Maybe If The Stars Align
by SereneCalamity
Summary: Escaping New York to live in Los Angeles with his cousins, Jace finds himself falling for not one, but two people. Jace/Clary/Sebastian.
1. Chapter 1

_New story! This was the most popular voted story when I asked you guys which one you would want posted up next, so I hope you all enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the characters._

It was actually pretty sad that his whole life seemed to fit into the fraying canvas bag that was strapped to the back of his motorcycle. He was twenty-three years old, and all he really had was his clothes, a few old photographs and, of course, his 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna motorbike that he had saved practically every cent he could to buy a few years ago. Jace Herondale had never led a life where he had much in the way of material possessions, but it still felt a little painful as he drove away from the apartment building he had grown up in with only that one bag.

It was a cold night, and he was glad for the leather gloves he was wearing to stop the bite from the wind as he sped along the busy city streets. Even though it was almost two in the morning, New York was still completely alive. There were men and woman in outfits that clearly said they were out enjoying a night on the town, but then there were other men and woman who were dressed in suits or uniforms, working over time or night shifts.

This was all he had ever really known, and yet it didn't feel like home.

The fact that he didn't feel crushing sadness in his chest told him that he was doing was the best thing for him. He didn't feel upset about leaving behind the apartment, or the memories that he had there, because a majority of them weren't happy memories. And that place had never felt like somewhere that he was loved and safe.

There had only been one place, and a couple of people that he had ever felt even close to home, and that was where he was going now.

The drive itself was going to take him about three days, and that was if he was going to drive straight there. For the first time for as long as he could remember, he didn't have any obligations; no job that he needed to be at or responsibilities to meet. Maybe he would take a detour, take his time getting to Los Angeles and his cousins. Go sight seeing, or whatever it was that people who actually had time to go off and do things in their free time did.

He had resigned from his job two weeks ago, giving in enough notice so that he got his full holiday payout. He had sold everything he could from his and his mothers apartment so that he could put that money into his bank as well, and had then tidied the place up as best as he could so that he got back a majority of their security deposit, even though it had technically been under his fathers name. His father had been gone for years though, and thankfully the landlord had known that.

Jace drove for almost eight hours straight, only stopping once a little after six in the morning at a rest stop for something to eat for breakfast and to go to the bathroom. His ass was a bit sore and his hands were aching a little from where they had been clenched around the handlebars of his motorcycle. He ignored it for a long time, he was used to putting up with uncomfortable conditions, but when it was almost eleven thirty, he decided that his body needed a break. He wasn't particularly hungry, and he needed to be frugal with his money, so he just found a rest stop on the side of the road, parked up his bike, and went for a walk.

He stretched out his legs, and his arms, and then settled down somewhere near a river and drank from the bottle of water that he had kept in his duffle bag. He was a bit tired, but he didn't want to properly stop until that night when he was actually stopping to sleep. He just needed some time to let his body get used to actual blood flow again.

There was something calming and almost hypnotic about the way the river sounded as it rushed past him and the light whistle of the wind in the trees and the fact that he could only occasionally hear a car go past.

He wasn't really used to the quiet.

He was a born and bred New Yorker.

Sometimes there were times when Jace had got on his motorcycle and driven in a straight line when things had gotten too much. He dreamed about just continuing to drive until he ran out of gas and couldn't keep going. But the responsibility and obligation that he felt toward his mother had always won out, and he turned the bike around and headed back home. He had been driving for almost twelve hours, and that was the furthest he had ever been from New York.

Jace couldn't stop his mind from wandering back over the past few weeks. He was twenty-three years old, but he felt as though he had been reduced to a worrying mess of a six year old who had lost his mother in a crowded supermarket. He was used to Celine Herondale not coming home for a night or two, but it had now been a week since he had seen her. He had tried calling her phone number, going around to the apartment of the drop kick asshole that she had been seeing a few months ago, but the phone kept going to voice mail and the ex-lover hadn't seen her. Finally, on the eighth day after she had disappeared, she had stumbled in the door of their tiny apartment, reeking of alcohol and eyes bloodshot, with a gaudy ring on her finger.

She had gotten drunk and gotten married.

Jace had lost his shit.

He had been working overtime—every single day—for the past three and a half weeks, without a day off, just trying to make ends week, and she had gone and spent the money he put aside for their rent and food and utilities on a stupid diamond ring. Apparently the charmer that she had married couldn't quite 'afford the ring he thought she deserved' and so she had pitched in.

The cherry on top was when Celine had stated was that she was too old to still be living with her son, and she wanted a fresh start.

She wanted a fresh start.

As though she was the one who's life hadn't been properly lived.

Celine had been complaining for as long as Jace could remember that getting pregnant with him had ruined her life. She had been eighteen when she had met Stephen Herondale. He was a few years older than her, and he was suave and smooth talking, and he charmed his way into her pants within a few minutes. When she got knocked up, she gave up working and stayed at home with him. She had never been good at school, so University and studying had never been in the cards for her, so once Jace had grown up, she didn't have anything to fall back on. Stephen had stayed around for some time, surprisingly, maybe he actually had intentions to be a good father.

He failed miserably.

Jace didn't remember too much about his father, but he remembers shouting and screaming, and being pushed into walls and over chairs and down a flight of stairs. He remembers being scared and wanting to feel safe, wanting someone to put their arms around him and tell him that it was going to be okay.

He learnt pretty damn fast that he couldn't rely on someone to do that for him.

There had only been three people who had ever made him feel as though he was safe and loved, and neither of them were his parents.

One of them probably hadn't even realized how much they had even meant to Jace.

Jace took in a deep breath as he scrubbed a hand over his face and through his shaggy, blonde hair which was matted from where it had been shoved under his helmet for almost twelve hours, a bit greasy with sweat. It was going to feel good to have a shower when he found some cheap hotel to crash in that night. He made his way back to his bike, his ass already aching a little just at the idea of getting back on, but he swung his leg over, and pulled his helmet on, doing up the strap and then revving the engine. It vibrated between his thighs, an arousing power, and he slapped on a pair of sunglasses and took off, wheels spinning up gravel and creating a rift in his wake.

* * *

It was three days later that Jace made it to Los Angeles.

He could have made it in less time, but for once in his life, he didn't have to be somewhere, or have to be doing something, and he was taking advantage of that the best he could.

The city was busy but it didn't feel quite like New York. There was something in the air that just felt completely different. The sun shone brighter, and Jace was starting to feel as though he was going to need to take off his leather jacket that had been keeping him protected from the whipping of the wind on his journey over. As he got closer to the beach, there was a salty tang in the air and he took in deep breaths through his nose.

It was the middle of a Wednesday afternoon, but their were still quite a few people on the beach. There were mums their with toddlers, and a couple of dogs running around with their owners, and girls in bikini's and boys throwing around a football.

Jace parked his motorbike up by the long line of cars and switched it off, pocketing the keys as he pulled off his helmet and then shrugged out of his leather jacket. He instantly felt lighter, only wearing his jeans and a light, v-neck tee-shirt. He pulled it away from his slightly sweaty skin, shaking it out, before walking toward the beach. He really wanted to pull off his shoes and socks and let his toes sink into the sand, but then he was gonna have to shove his feet back into those shoes and socks before he could ride his bike again, and that would just be uncomfortable, so he refrained.

Instead he found an empty spot, far enough away from the a gaggle of mothers with their screaming children that he could still hear the kids laughs every now an then but not pitchy enough that it scratched at his eardrums.

Jace was tired. Although he had stopped and stayed at hotels each of the nights he had been driving, they had all been cheap hotels with thin mattresses and flat pillows and hardly enough blankets to keep warm. He was pretty adaptable when it came to less than desirable sleeping positions, but given his body had already been aching ridiculously from being on the bike all day, he hadn't been able to get comfortable, and he had mainly tossed and turned. He was definitely looking forward to getting a good nights sleep.

He pulled his phone and sent off a text.

I'll be there soon. If I don't get lost following my GPS ;)

Jace shoved his phone into his back pocket and looked back out over the ocean. The tide was coming in, and there were a couple of surfers who were paddling out towards the waves. He had a feeling that he was going to be spending a lot of time down here at the beach—he was going to have a lot more free time on his hands now that he didn't need to support his mother as well as himself.

He lost track of time, pulling cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting up, ignoring the dirty looks that came from a couple of the mothers as he took a drag, blowing the hazy smoke into the clean around him. So maybe he was polluting the fresh air, but that was why he hadn't sat directly next to anyone. He finished the cigarette and stubbed it out in the sand. He was about to leave it there, but the longer he stared at the little discrepancy in the pretty, smooth sand, the worse he felt, so he picked the butt up and carried it back toward the parking lot with him, and flicked it toward the bin. He decided to forego his leather jacket, shoving it into his duffle bag, and then felt his phone vibrate just as he was about to pick up his helmet.

 _I'm not home at the moment, but let yourself in with the spare key. It's under the doormat at the back door._

Jace couldn't help but be a little disappointed, but it was the middle of the Wednesday afternoon, and he knew that his cousin had to work. It had been almost a year since he had seen Alec Lightwood though, so he had been hoping that he would be there when Jace arrived.

He typed in the address to Alec and his partners home and saw that it was only about a fifteen minute drive away. That was nice. That meant that as long as he was staying with Alec, he could take jogs in the morning and end up right along the beach. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be staying with them, he hadn't really thought that far ahead. The whole uplifting his life from NY to LA had been a split second decision and he really hadn't thought the whole thing through. Hell, he didn't even know how big Alec's place was, and there was every chance he was only going to be able to stay there for a short amount of time. And at the end of the day, that was what he was going to want. He wanted his own place, his own life, and to live it the way that he wanted to.

It's not as though Alec would ever going to ask him to leave, even if the place was crowded.

Alec and his sister, Isabelle Lightwood, had always been constants in Jace's life, even though they were hundreds and hundreds of miles away. Sometimes they would go weeks without talking, but then whenever they got in front of the webcam, or Facetime, or on the phone the time would fade away, and the stresses and shit in Jace's life just disappeared.

That was why after Celine had walked out on him, and he had gone out and fucked some nameless girl in a dirty bathroom bar to get rid of his frustrations, his mind had instantly gone to his cousins.

That was where he wanted to be.

That was where he would feel safe, and cared for, and loved.

All it had taken was a phone call, he had barely got the words out before Alec was insisting that he get his ass there as soon as he could. Isabelle had been in the background, and he could hear her cheering, saying that they would finally all be living in the same place, and that he could finally get to know his nephew properly, Max Lightwood-Lewis.

Something else he would never had had the time to do if he was in New York.

He hadn't even met his nephew yet, who was now almost a year old. Had only seen photos of him when they were sent to his phone. He was sure that he would have been able to see a whole lot more if he had a Facebook, like Alec and Izzy kept insisting he get, but he just couldn't bring himself to. He didn't think he would be able to handle seeing photos of their happy, picture-perfect lives while he was stuck, unable to go forward and struggling not to backward.

Besides, Jace had no doubt that that third person would also feature on their Facebook pages; that third person that made him feel as though there was something who cared what happened to him.

It was stupid, and he knew he was clinging to an idea rather to an actual person, because they had only met three times, but every single time they were together it had felt as though there was this connection. Jace knew that they didn't owe him anything, and to be completely honest, he would happy if they just offered him their friendship now that he was here.

Jace didn't get lost, and he managed to find Alec's place well enough. It was a house, rather than an apartment, and Jace couldn't stop his smile. There was a lawn out the front which was clipped to a short, tidy length, and there was a tree in the corner, all leafy and green. Jace had to bite his lip as he took it all in as he got off his motorbike, parking it up against the house, and he pulled off his helmet. The house was a cream colour with a dark coloured roof and the windows were all cleaned, the blinds inside open enough to let the sun in, but closed enough for privacy. There was a garage at the end of the drive, the door closed. He walked slowly around the side of the house, finding the backdoor and grinning when he saw a grey doormat laid there.

Wipe your fucking feet, please, it read in dark, swirly writing.

He couldn't stop his snort of laughter.

He bent down and lifted it up, finding the key and then slid it into the lock. There was a pleasant citrus smell in the house, mixed together with the scent of mens cologne, something expensive, and probably belonging to Alec's partner.

There was movement in the hall to his left and Jace frowned, turning around sharply.

No one was meant to be here, Alec would have told him.

Then his eyes widened as he saw the person—his third person—step out into view with a wide grin on their face, eyes sparkling.

"Sebastian," Jace murmured.

 _Right! So...How was it?_

 _I've got lots of recommendations I want to make coz I've been away for so long, but I'll just throw a couple out there. Movies—_ Moana _! It was amazing. So was_ Rogue One _, which I didn't expect to like because I'm not a big fan of Felicity Jones, but it was incredible, and Diego Luna is my new love. And a couple of songs I'm in love with at the moment are_ Falling For You _by Lyon Hart and_ Dangerously _by Charlie Puth._

 _Alright, so, tell me...Did you guys all have an amazing Christmas/New Years? Me and my hubby always travel for Christmas to see extended family, but it was just a quiet one at home with a couple of his family members, so that was nice. And for New Years we rented out a house by the beach with a couple of our close friends, so that was amazing._

 _Tell me what you guys got up to, and leave a review._

 _And if you guys want a preview of the next chapter, just ask, and I'll throw one out there ;) Don't forget to check out the new multi-chapter stories, which you guys all voted on, as well as a bunch of new oneshots I've written. I've gone and put some of them up :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, guys! So here's the next update! There's been several reviews telling me that I'm not a very good writer/not being fair because I haven't updated this in a while. I'm so, so glad you guys are enjoying the story and wanting it to be updated, but as it states in my profile, this is not a story on a regular updating schedule. This is not a story that I will be updating once or twice a month; several months could pass without me updating. This is not something I get paid for, this is not something that I have heaps and heaps of time to spend doing. I have a full time job, I have a husband, I have health issues and I have a social life. This is something that I do for fun and for free, please remember that. Even if my stories are not updated as regularly as some may like, my stories will_ always _get completed._

 _Thank you, and on with the story!_

"Hey, Jace," Sebastian Verlac said easily, closing the distance between them and then reaching over and wrapping his arms around Jace's body as though they interacted all the time. Jace tensed for a moment, but then lifted his hands to rest them on Sebastian's lower back for a moment. Sebastian pulled back first, slapping his hands down on Jace's shoulders and squeezed. "Shit, man, it's been a long time since I've seen you." Jace was still surprised to see him there, and apart from uttering his name when he had first seen him, he hadn't made any noise. It was a good thing Sebastian was filling the silence, walking into Magnus and Alec's kitchen as though he lived there, pulling out a couple of cans of soda from the fridge and tossing one in his direction. "I've got the day off work, had to stop by the airport, and so I thought I'd come and surprise you since Alec said you were showing up today."

"Uh," Jace finally managed to say, blinking at Sebastian.

"I can't believe you're finally here, man," Sebastian grinned at him as he popped off the tab from his can of lemonade and tossed it toward the bin in the corner of the kitchen. "You always said that you were going to come out here and see us," he faltered a little bit as he remembered the circumstances that Jace was here under. "I'm sorry about your mum taking off. That sucks."

"Yeah," Jace mumbled, looking down at his can of drink and tapped his fingers against the side. Sebastian pursed his lips, looking out the window, and Jace lifted his eyes to look at him.

His skin was tanned and his hair was blonde, bleached even lighter from the sun that he clearly was out in a lot of the time. His eyes were dark, which Jace had always found strange because often people with blonde hair had lighter coloured eyes, and he had these ridiculously long, light coloured eyelashes. Jace swallowed hard, tilting his head to looked back down at his drink as Sebastian turned back to him.

"Are you planning on staying here? Not here as in at Alec's place, but here, as in LA?" Sebastian asked. "It would be totally awesome if you do. I've, uh," he let out a short laugh and he looked a little embarassed. "I've missed you," he finally said, giving Jace a sheepish smile that Jace found ridiculously adorable. Jace felt his cheeks heating up a little bit and he shifted from foot to foot. Sebastian cleared his throat and let out another laugh. "Anyway, uh, so are you? Planning on staying?"

"I think so," Jace nodded slowly. "I mean, I don't really have any plans to be honest. But coming here seemed like the thing to do. It's where Alec and Izzy are. And you." Sebastian's smile widened at that. "Although I don't know how long I'm going to be able to crash here," Jace looked around the house. "Izzy has told me horror stories about Alec and Magnus' sex life." Sebastian let out a snort and shook his head.

"Fucking aye," he scrunched up his nose. "We've all been around when those two are starting to climb all over each other. Especially when they've been drinking, it's something that you need to look out for."

"Thanks for the warning," Jace felt his lips pulling upwards in a smile. It felt a bit foreign on his face, but it felt right, standing here with Sebastian. He scratched the back of his neck and drank from his can. "So you said you had a day off work? Where do you work?"

"Alec didn't tell you?" Sebastian frowned a little. "I work with him, with a couple of our friends. Jon, he's the older brother of my girlfriend, he owns a garage in town. A bunch of us got degrees in..." Sebastian kept on talking but Jace was stuck on one word.

Girlfriend.

He had a girlfriend.

Of _course_ he had a girlfriend.

Or a boyfriend.

It had been two years since he had even seen Sebastian, and even when they had met up, it definitely hadn't been anything serious. It had been a couple of nights of rolling around together and laughing and going out for cheap beer and terribly made burgers. They had met all of three times, each of those times lasting about a week, and Jace wasn't stupid enough to think that they meant as much to Sebastian to as they did to him. For Jace, they were this escape from the shittiness that was his life. For Sebastian, they were probably just a couple of nights of fun.

"Jace?" Sebastian sounded confused and waved his hand in front of Jace's face. He must have asked a question and was waiting on a reply because he raised his eyebrows at the golden haired boy.

"Sorry, what was that?" Jace blinked at him.

"I asked if you wanted to go out for lunch? Grab a beer? There's this amazing food bar down by the beach that we go to all the time, and—"

"I think that I'm just gonna have a shower and maybe have a nap," Jace's words fell flat, even to him. Sebastian clearly thought so as well, because the corners of his mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I've been driving on my bike for pretty much the past three days straight and I'm just..." he let out a huff and ran his fingers through his hair, shaking it out. "Tired," he finished lamely. Sebastian stared at him for a few beats, not quite believing him, but deciding that he wasn't going to push it. Jace didn't miss the flash of hurt across Sebastian's face and it made his chest tighten uncomfortably as he let his eyes slide to the side.

"Oh, right," Sebastian nodded, giving him a half smile that didn't quite reach his dark eyes. "That's totally understandable. Uh," he reached for his phone from his back pocket and held it out to Jace. "Put your number in. We should meet up and...Catch up and shit."

"Yeah," Jace nodded as he tapped his number in and then off a text to his own phone so that he had Sebastian's number. He handed the phone back to Sebastian and their fingers brushed for a moment. "Well, I'm going to be here for a while, so yeah, absolutely, at some point."

"Hey—have you got a job lined up? I mean, we can always talk to Jon. I know fuck all about what our budget is and whether or not we're looking at hiring anyone else, but I can always ask," Sebastian suggested. "Just until you get yourself on your feet. I know that you worked in a garage back in New York, so it works out perfectly!" Jace was staring at Sebastian and the blonde faltered. "Uh, it's just an idea. I totally get if you want to find your own way." Jace was still staring at Sebastian, and the other man pursed his lips, drumming his fingers against the side of his phone as he waited for a reply.

"Uh," he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, actually, that would be really good."

"Really?" Sebastian looked surprise, his grin widening, eyes glittering.

"Yeah," Jace had already been worrying about what he was meant to do for a job. He had worked since he was a teenager, to support himself and his mum. He had worked before he went to school in the morning, and then in the afternoon after school finished. Financial instability had always been a big shadow in the front of his mind ever since he was a kid, and even though he had enough money to support himself at the moment, a job would definitely be what he was going to start looking for starting tomorrow. "That would actually be really great."

"Yeah, awesome, I'll talk to him tonight, see what he says," Sebastian grinned.

"Thanks, Seb," Jace gave him another smile, but that didn't change the fact that honestly? He just wanted to be alone right now. Fortunately, Sebastian seemed to pick up on that, and he reached out to touch his fingers to the back of Jace's hand briefly before he was pulling away and walking toward the front of the house. He heard a door shut, and a moment later an engine started, probably parked out on the street because there hadn't been any in the drive of the house when he had arrived.

Sebastian.

Shit.

He really hadn't expected to see him today.

Actually, he wasn't sure he expected to see him anytime soon.

He had definitely hoped that he was going to see him, he knew that it was inevitable. The thing that he had had with Sebastian was the most confusing and while it was short lived, it had felt more real than anything else he had had in that way. The longest time he had ever been in a relationship had been with Kaelie Whitewillow, which had ended three months ago in a complete fucking mess. And even though they had been together—if together was really what he could call it—for almost eighteen months, it hadn't come close to what he had felt when he was with Sebastian.

Jace shook his head harshly, breathing out heavily through his nose to clear his head, and then set about exploring the house. It was a nice place, decorated probably by Magnus because Alec's interior design would have just been whatever felt comfortable rather than based on what looked good and went together. There were two bedrooms, a main one with an en-suite which would belong to the boys and he didn't go inside other than glancing from the doorway, and then a guest room where there was a double bed in the centre and a fancy port-a-cot set up in the corner, undoubtedly for little Max.

Max.

Jace looked around at photos that were on the walls, sitting on the furniture in the lounge and also in the kitchen. There were a ridiculous amount of photos of the little boy, who looked like an adorable mix between Isabelle and her husband, Simon Lewis. There were also group photos of Alec and Magnus with Isabelle and Simon and Sebastian and a couple of other people that he didn't recognize. There were a few more photos featuring Sebastian and a petite red head with big green eyes.

He went out and got his bag from his bike and dumped it in the corner of the guest room, assuming that that was where he would be staying, and then he did exactly what he told Sebastian.

He had a shower, pulled on a pair of sweatpants and promptly fell asleep on top of the covers of the guest bed.

* * *

"Oi..." someone was poking his leg. "Oi!" Jace shook his head sleepily and then rolled over, looking up at who had woken up. Alec was grinning down at him, his black hair flopping forward over his forehead as he waited for his friend to fully wake up and sit up on the mattress. "Shit, man, you were out of it! We've been home for almost two hours, and we weren't going to wake you up, but it's almost seven and Magnus has dinner ready."

"Shit," Jace sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face, wiping his knuckles into his eyes before standing up. "I don't even know how long I slept."

"You must've needed it," Alec said before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around his cousin in a tight hug. "Fuck, it's been way too long."

"Yeah, I know," Jace gave him a regretful smile, ducking his head as they pulled apart. "Just...Everything. You know how it is." Alec twisted his mouth a little but just jerked his head in a nod before beginning to back out of the room. "Anyway, I'm here now. And I don't plan on going anywhere."

"Did Seb come over and see you? He's been keen to see you ever since I told him you were coming," Alec said conversationally as they walked down the hallway toward the kitchen and lounge area. "He's got a spare key, so he said that he was going to stop by after he dropped Clary off at the airport." They reached the kitchen and there was an incredible smell that instantly hit Jace and he had to bite his lip to stop from letting out a groan of appreciation.

"Jace!" Magnus grinned at the golden haired boy as though they were already close friends. Isabelle had warned Jace in advance about Magnus, that he didn't really respect personal boundaries, and he had also seen a couple of pictures of him, but he still blinked a couple of times when he saw the man. He was still wearing the same clothes that Jace assumed he had worn throughout they day; tight, leather pants, a turquoise button down shirt and a clinging black cardigan. His hair was gelled in a coif and his eyes were ringed in dark eyeliner and turquoise eye shadow. Magnus put down the wooden spoon he was using to stir whatever amazing dish he had in the frying pan and came over to Jace, putting his arms around him, holding him close.

Jace had been right.

The expensive cologne most definitely Magnus'.

"I'm so glad that you finally made it! It's so good to finally meet you!" Magnus was humming out before stepping back and then pressing a kiss to Jace's cheek. There was a sticky residue left, probably from the gloss on the man's mouth, before he turned back to stir the dinner. "And Sebastian text Alec earlier and said that he was going to talk to Jon about getting you a job? It's all working out pretty perfect."

"Yeah," Jace felt a jolt in his stomach, knowing that Sebastian had been talking about him, and quickly covered it up by nodding over at the stove. "So what's for dinner?" Magnus quickly launched into his menu for the evening, Alec grabbing a few beers out of the fridge and handing one over to Jace. The way that Magnus and Alec moved around each other was comfortable and oozed with familiarity. Even though Jace had always lived with his mother, there had never been that warm feeling between them, and the way they had shifted around each other had never been as though they were sharing space, it was more as though they had bubbles around them and were trying to avoid getting to close to each other.

It wasn't the first time he had been jealous of his cousin, but at least now, things were in a position to change for him.

"Izzy, Si and Max are coming over for dinner as well," Alec piped up as he pulled a bottle of wine out of the cupboard and put it on the counter. "They'll be here in about ten minutes." A grin almost broke Jace's face in half, and his eyes were glowing when he heard a car in the driveway. "Or, you know, now." Jace walked toward the door where he could already hear Isabelle's voice calling out to Simon, about grabbing something from the boot of their car. Their voices got closer and closer, and then the door opened and Isabelle was first through the door, looking stunning as usual with her dark hair pulled back in a high pony tail and wearing a red dress with a black jacket over the top.

"Jace!" She squealed out, dropping the bag she was carrying and running toward Jace, her shoes clipping on the wooden floors. She practically jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and lifting her feet off the ground. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my _god_ , I can't believe you're finally here! It's been way too fucking long!"

"Mama no-no," came a mumble, and Izzy huffed out a laugh against Jace's shoulder as he put her down and then lifted his eyes to look back at the door. There was a little boy being held by Simon Lewis, who Jace had only met on two occasions. They exchanged smiles and then he looked down at the boy.

"Yeah, mama said a bad word," Simon chuckled. Jace knew his eyes were softening as he stared at the little boy, who had brown hair and grey eyes and was clinging to his fathers shoulder.

"Hey, baby boy," Isabelle said softly as she walked over to her husband and son. "This is Jace, he's your Uncle, like Alec." Max looked him up and down with studious eyes before cracking the smallest smile, Jace grinning in response. Then Magnus and Alec came out of the kitchen and Max let out a little squeak and his eyes lit up as the two men walked over and instantly began smothering him with attention.

Isabelle was laughing as the two men fought over who got to hold the little boy first, and then Max was being hurtled away Alec, who was holding him above his head and making noises in an attempt to sound like an airplane. Magnus trailed after them, protesting that he only let Alec hold Max first because he was still tending to dinner. Simon leaned in and gave Isabelle a kiss on the cheek and then reached down to squeeze her ass quickly in a way that made her laugh again and Jace couldn't hold back his smile.

The whole atmosphere just felt warm and inviting, and he was just glad to be a part of it.

 _Songs this time..._ Symphony _by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Lasson. Holy shit. So completely in love._ Shape of You _, the cover by Madilyn Bailey. This chick has_ suuuch _an incredible voice, I love most of her covers, but this one is amazing. And the song_ Shout _, the version by Think Up Anger, that was on Riverdale. It's incredible. Also, I finally got around to watching_ The Get Down _, and I can't believe I waited so long,_

 _Let me know what songs you guys are listening to, and if you guys have seen_ The Get Down _!_

 _Did you guys like the chapter? Yes, no, maybe?_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think :)_

 _Also, I would like to say Transgender Day of Visibility for the other day xx_

 _If you guys are logged in and want a preview, just let me know, and I'll send one out!_


	3. Chapter 3

_We've got an update! This was quicker update this time, only a month. A lot of people want a time frame for the updates with this story, but just remember—this is not one of my stories that is on a regular schedule. I will try to update this one every two or three months. When I've got more time and written a bit more, I will put it on the regular schedule—I promise!_

 _Also_ — _there's been some problems with uploading, giving me errors when I'm uploading, and apparently not sending out alerts to you guys by email. So...Fingers crossed this works for everyone this time!_

Jace woke up a little after seven the next morning. Back in New York his normal waking time was six in the morning. He would have to check on his mother, make sure that she had actually made it to her bed after a night out drinking far too much, go for a run, get back to the apartment and make breakfast for himself and coffee for Celine. Then he would go to work, bury himself in a job where he liked what he was doing, but didn't like the people he surrounded himself, and then went home. Sometimes on the way home he would stop at a bar, have a few beers before leaving.

But this morning, just like the past few mornings, he had nowhere that he needed to be.

But unlike the past few mornings, he wasn't in a cheap hotel that he wanted to escape as soon as possible.

So he stayed in bed and stared up at the ceiling.

About two years ago, he had thought about coming out here to join his cousins. He was twenty-one and he _hated_ his life. He hated coming home to the tiny apartment that got far too damp in the winter and far too hot in the summer. He hated coming home to his mother, who was either ignoring him or giving him contemptuous looks. He wanted to be around Isabelle and Alec, who clearly loved him.

And then he had met Kaelie, and he had changed his mind. It wasn't as though he had seriously thought about leaving, because at the end of the day, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to leave Celine behind, but Kaelie cemented his reason for staying.

She was a pretty rich girl, who lived in a gorgeous penthouse in the middle of the city, and was studying for a law degree. She was smart and funny and maybe a little bit manipulative, although he didn't realize just how much when he was with her. He really didn't like it when he had to hang out with her friends, because they were all carbon copies of her and mainly talked about their shoes, but he would because it made her happy. He hadn't been looking for anything serious, but he found that he had quite liked her. It was completely different from how he had felt with Sebastian, but it was nice to wake up next to her, make breakfast together in her penthouse and watch her as she got dressed in the early morning sun.

He liked her enough that he went exclusive with her eighteen months. And somewhere along the way it wasn't just this thing that he was having for fun, and he actually thought that it was something else. He started spending some hard earned and saved money on dinners for her and going on trips to places that he really wasn't into but that she seemed to like. Given her cushy upbringing and his very _opposite_ one, they had a difficult time meeting in the middle and it resulted in a lot of compromises, mainly on Jace's part, but he had thought that it was working.

It took him a little while to catch up on the fact that she was just with him because she wanted to try something different from the Ivy League boys that her daddy set her up with.

By the time Jace got out of bed, Magnus and Alec had left, although Alec had sent him a text to tell him that they would be back around five, and he was welcome to anything in the house. He took a shower, knowing that he didn't need to keep it short like he had to back in New York because their hot water ran out ridiculously fast, but he still couldn't stop himself from rushing through washing his hair and soaping up his body and then stepping out about four minutes later. He made himself breakfast and then settled in front of the TV.

He was going to need to make a whole new queue in Netflix, he realized with a huff, although that seemed like a very small price to pay. He found one of those crime drama's that he enjoyed and didn't require too much thought, _Crossing Lines_ , and finished his breakfast, pushing the bowl onto the coffee table in the middle of the room.

Sebastian sent him a text as he was getting ready to go for a walk, to look around the neighbourhood, telling him that Jon was willing to give him a trial. Jace felt a hopeful smile pull at the corners of his mouth as he re-read the text a couple of times, but before he could compose a reply, there was another text coming through, saying that they were going out for a few drinks tomorrow night, and he was invited, and he could officially meet Jon there. Jace just sent a short confirmation text and then shoved his phone in the back pocket of his jeans.

He wondered if Sebastian's girlfriend was going to be there.

That then lead him to him thinking maybe he shouldn't have agreed to go out for drinks the next night.

And then that lead to him getting annoyed, because Sebastian was his _friend_ , nothing more. What they had was altogether only a couple of weeks of fun, over two years ago, and he had to get over that in his head.

Jace spent the rest of the day walking. Usually he would either be running or on his bike if he wanted to burn time, but he wanted to get to know this place. He ended up at a cafe, and ordered himself lunch, trying to cringe outwardly as he paid a steep price for just a sandwich and a smoothie. The waitress was cute, and she kept giving him a look up and down, and then before he left, she came over to him and told him she finished in an hour. Jace smiled idly at her, but didn't really consider the offer. It wasn't that he was a stranger to the whole casual sex thing, because he was probably more into that than what was healthy, it's just he wasn't feeling it today.

Maybe she could read on his face that if she approached him another time he would be more susceptible, because she scribbled her name and number down on a napkin and handed it over to him. He gave her a smile and scrunched it up in his pocket.

The sun was high in the sky as he kept on walking, and he felt it beating down on his bare arms. This would be why Alec and Isabelle and Sebastian were always so tanned when they came to see him in New York. Not to say that there wasn't sun in New York, but it always felt clouded by the buildings and he was almost always inside, working. He guessed it wouldn't be long before that happened again, so he was going to enjoy his freedom while he could.

Magnus cooked again that night, and Alec said to Jace that Jon was looking forward to meeting him. Apparently Jon was a few years older than the boys, twenty-five, and he had brought the garage with some money that was left to him by a grandfather when he had passed. Alec, Jon and Sebastian had been friends since high school, and so it had made sense to all work together. They were all fully qualified mechanics, which made Jace feel a little incompetent, because all he had was his trade certificate from his apprenticeship at the garage that he worked at back in the city.

The conversation tonight was a bit calmer than it had been last night, when Isabelle had been there, dominating most of the talk with her mile a minute chatter, and a lot of the conversation revolved around Max, which Jace and everyone else seemed completely fine with.

Jace found out that Magnus worked as an interior designer, which made complete sense, given how the house looked. Simon worked as an accountant, and apparently worked in the same building as Clary, Sebastian's girlfriend, although they were with different companies. Isabelle was in ECE, which worked well with Max, because it meant that she could spend everyday with him. Magnus was drinking from his glass of red wine, running his finger around the rim of his glass before he tipped his head to the side and turned his catlike eyes toward Jace.

"So you're coming out with us on tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah," Jace nodded his head once. "Sebastian text me."

"Yeah, he's been pretty excited about you coming back," Alec shot Jace a half smile as he tapped his fingers against the side of his bottle of beer. Jace would deny it if they asked later on, but his chin jutted forward a little too enthusiastically, wondering if his cousin was going to expand on his statement.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

* * *

"And here he is!" Isabelle crowed out from the booth where she and Simon and two others were sitting. Jace rolled his eyes at the bubbliness from the gorgeous dark haired girl, but couldn't stop his smile from pulling at his lips as he slid into the booth next to her. Alec and Magnus were close behind him and sat opposite him, beside the couple, waving their hands to catch the attention of a waitress. "Okay, so, guys, this is Jace!" He gave an awkward wave across at the man and woman sitting opposite them. "Jace, this is Jordan and Maia." They grinned back at him, easy smiles on their faces as they leaned against each other. A round of drinks were brought to the table, and the conversation at the table suddenly became loud, Maia Roberts and Isabelle talking from opposite sides of the table and Alec, Magnus and Simon all trying to carry on a conversation over peoples heads. Jace was more than happy to lean back in the booth and listen in to whatever he could hear.

"Seb!" Jordan Kyle called out as he caught sight of the man coming through the bar. "Jon—over here!" Jace couldn't help but turn around and look in the direction that Jordan was looking in. Sebastian came into view first and Jace knew that he was just playing games in his head, but it seemed as though Sebastian's eyes glittered a little more when they fell on the golden haired boy.

"Jace," Sebastian greeted him softly before sitting down at his side, shuffling up close to him so that the other guy, Jonathon Morgenstern, could sit next to him. Jace swallowed hard, wondering how long he had to wait for his drink, because he needed some alcohol in his system to calm his nerves.

It was ridiculous how warm his body felt by just having Sebastian's thigh pressed up against his own.

"Uh, so, Jace," Sebastian pressed himself against the back of the booth as best as he could, so that Jace could see the man on his other side. "This is Jon. Jon, this is Jace." The two of them gave each other nods, and then thankfully, Sebastian leaned forward and gave a charming smile up to the waitress who had come over to take their drink orders. "You still all about Corona's?" Sebastian threw a grin over his shoulder at Jace, and Jace jerked his head in a nod, and then Sebastian turned back to the waitress and passed on Jace's order along with his own.

The whole atmosphere between the group of friends was so easy and relaxed, and Jace found himself being pulled into their conversations every now and then. Maia worked at the local newspaper and Jordan was with a building firm. Sebastian was in his element here, but he drew Jace out bit by bit, asking him a question every now and then and nudging his elbow into his side when Jace went quiet for too long. Isabelle and Simon were ridiculously adorable together, and Jace couldn't help the swell of disappointment in his chest at how much he had missed by being in New York, rather than being here.

"Okay, I seriously don't understand what the problem was!" Sebastian was laughing, and his arm was jostling against Jace's in a way that he couldn't find annoying even if he tried. "We were just having some fun!"

"You're kidding," Isabelle's upper lip was curled as though she was completely unimpressed, but there was a sparkle in her eyes.

"You guys were practically _naked_!" Maia chimed in.

"We were having a good time!" Jon protested.

"Yeah, it sure looked that way," Isabelle wiggled her eyebrows and Jon let out a laugh.

"I think maybe a little context is required for this conversation," Jace piped up with a laugh, raising his eyebrows at the table.

"Oh, right," Sebastian grinned and turned his body slightly so that he was facing. "Alright, so there was this Dodgers game on, and we had all gone to this bar to watch it. The girls had gone off to do their nails or some shit—" there were grumbles from Maia and Isabelle at that. "—and I don't really know how it happened, but there was this old dude sitting next to us who somehow managed to talk us into drinking games. This guy was like seventy and he fucking drank us all under the table!" Jon and Simon snorted, both grinning wide, and Jace didn't doubt that this was the hundredth time they had told this story.

"He was paying for everything as well!" Jon chimed in. "He was getting the top shelf vodka and bourbon and—"

"So how does this lead to you all being naked?" Jace raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"We weren't _naked_ ," Sebastian corrected.

"Just _mostly_ naked," Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" Simon protested. "We kinda, maybe, went down to the beach and kinda just ran up and down the sand in our underwear?" He looked a little guilty as he peeked through his glasses at his wife, who was rolling her eyes affectionately at him.

"It was just..." Jon shrugged and laughed. "It was the middle of summer and it was really hot." The whole table exploded with laughter and Jace felt bewildered as he looked around at all of them, not quite getting why everyone was laughing.

"It was kinda one of those moments where you just had to be there," Sebastian's voice was suddenly close to Jace's ear, his breath hot against his ear. Jace's throat tightened as he nodded and tried to ignore that Sebastian's arm was now resting against the booth behind his back. It was a completely casual move, trying to stretch out his long limbs, but Jace couldn't help but enjoy the familiarity that came with the motion. "And now that you're here, there's going to be a lot more of those moments," his fingers brushed briefly against Jace's shoulder before suddenly he jerked, bumping his arm against Jon's elbow.

"Shit man, what's your problem?" Jon asked as he glanced at him, picking his tumbler of whiskey and sipping from it.

"My ass is vibrating," Sebastian grumbled as he dug around in his back pocket and pulled out his phone. His eyes widened as he saw who the caller was. "Hey, guys, it's Clary!"

"Ooh, put her on speaker!" Isabelle cried, putting her tall glass filled with some fruity alcoholic mixture aside as she leaned forward. Sebastian answered the call and then put the call on speaker and angled the microphone out so that the girl on the end of the line would be able to hear the rest of the table. "Clary!" Isabelle squealed and there was a laugh from the other end of the line.

"Izzy?" Came a voice.

"We're all here, biscuit!" Magnus joined in with a grin, leaning in closer to the phone.

"Aw, guys, now I miss all your asses," Jace could practically hear the pout from the other end of the line. "You guys at _Georges_?"

"Sure are," Sebastian spoke up.

"Well, I just wanted to ring you to say goodnight. I'm going out with a couple of others from the conference and I don't know when I'll be back at the hotel, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss you," she told him.

"Aw," Maia grinned. "She was just ringing to say goodnight."

"Shut up, Maia," the voice said with no spite. "I've had to endure so many of those 'no, you hang up first' calls between you and Jordan—you're no better than teenagers!" Maia and Jordan exchanged grins. "Anyway, I'll see you guys all in a week! I miss you all!"

"We miss you too!" Magnus, Alec and Isabelle cried in unison and there was a laugh on the other end of the phone. Jace had to bite his lip to stop them from pursing together in a frustrated line. It was pretty obvious how much everyone liked this girl, Clary, and he didn't know if that made it better or worse. Glad that Sebastian had found someone who was clearly a good person, or upset that he really didn't stand a chance here. Sebastian took his phone off speaker and put it to his ear, turning away from the table slightly so that he could talk to her while the rest of their friends all started talking again. Jace didn't purposefully listen to Sebastian's conversation, but he couldn't help it.

"Yeah, I fucking miss you too," Sebastian was saying quietly, and then laughed. "Okay, yeah, well maybe I just miss you making my dinner—I've been eating a ridiculous amount of take out...Yeah, I love you too. Night." The call then ended and Sebastian put his phone away, shooting a grin back at Jace before he grabbed his beer again.

Jace took in a deep breath through his nose, and under the table, he text the girl who had given him her phone number at the cafe the other day. He had saved it into his phone in case he wanted to meet up with her later.

Her response back was almost immediate, and so when it was closing in around one thirty, and everyone began going their separate ways, Jace muttered to Alec and Magnus that he had other plans and gave the cab driver the address he had been sent.

 _Sorry, this is going to be a little bit of a long A/N—only because I've got a lot that I want to recommend to you guys! Movie wise; I've only just seen_ Moonlight _, taken me a while to get there, but I saw it, and I loved it. My heart was aching through it, but it was beautiful._ Beauty and the Beast, _it was great. Was really worried because I loved the original so much, but it was great. And also_ Logan _, shit—I managed to hold it together right at the end, where Laura changed the cross to a X. Then I kind of lost it. So I absolutely recommend all thee of these._

 _Now, with TV series—_ Big Little Lies _. Holy SHIT! This was incredible! I binged the whole thing in one morning. It was sooooo good. I've also just started watching_ American Gods _, and I've got high hopes for it :) AND_ SENSE8 _SEASON 2 IS OUT! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! And it's just as amazing as ever! Also, I've got some song recommendations;_ Enjoy The Ride _and_ Alive _, by Krewella. Great songs, I've had them on repeat for the past couple of weeks. And then_ Red _, by Tyler Ward. The original song is by Taylor Swift, although I've never actually heard that version, only the one by Tyler, and it's so fucking beautiful._

 _And finally, I've got two stories that I'm pretty obsessed with. The first one I've been meaning to recommend for ages, but I just kept forgetting! It's by reppinda5o3, who is absolutely fucking amazing and listens to all my word vomit with my stories and is always there for me when I need to rant/rave. It's called_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, it's an AU story, she write in incredible detail, and you should all check it out! The second story is_ The Cry of The Wild _, another AU story, by happiness trap. She updates frequently as well, so that's always a plus!_

 _Alright—so let me know what you think of the update! Did you enjoy it? Let me know what your recommendations for songs, fics, movies or TV series are, and if you guys agree with the ones I've included._

 _If you'd like a preview of the next chapter and you're logged in, let me know, and I'll send it out xx_

 _Also, it's my birthday next week, so a review would be a pretty nice present from ya'll :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_And we've got an update for this! I also wanted to let you know that I've got two more Seb/Clary/Jace stories that I'm currently in the middle of planning, and I'm also planning a Jace/Clary/Alec one, which is a little different. Is that something you guys would be into it? Especially after the latest Shadowhunter ep, with that moment between Alec and Jace where's Jace is crying, I kinda got inspired..._

Jace didn't get back to Alec and Magnus' until almost three in the morning. The girl from the cafe—Stacey—had been fun. She had been out with her friends before they had met up, so she was looking gorgeous in a sparkling blue dress, wearing a pair of high heels that made her ass look amazing. Her roommate was out of town, so they had the flat to themselves. They started right in the entrance way, Stacey pulling her underwear out from under her dress, kicking them off and laughing as they got stuck around the heel of her shoes. She dropped to her knees, sucking him with fervor, a little bit sloppy and sometimes scraping her teeth along the underside of his cock, but it was still good. They went two more rounds before he called a cab to her apartment building and went home.

On Tuesday morning, Alec woke Jace up at the same time that he and Magnus got up and got ready for work. Jace showered and got dressed, helping Magnus make breakfast for the three of them and then sitting down at the kitchen table.

"So, Seb spoke with Jon a few days ago about you maybe coming in to work with us," Alec began as he drank his morning coffee. "Is that something you want?"

"A job?" Jace raised an eyebrow.

"No, to work with us," Alec replied. "I mean..." Alec pursed his lips together, looking uncomfortable, and then looked over to where Magnus was standing, frying the last couple of eggs. "You and Seb have history, and I know that you're all over it now, but it might still be a little weird?" Jace's fingers tightened around his fork, surprised at the question.

"It'll be fine," Jace said shortly, not wanting to get any further into _that_ particular conversation. "That was years ago, and it was never anything serious." Alec looked as though he accepted that answer and shrugged, going back to his coffee and scrolling through his iPad. Magnus was still looking at Jace as though he was expecting more, but Jace pointedly looked down at his phone, ignoring the look. After breakfast, the Magnus left straight away, giving his partner a kiss on the mouth and wishing Jace good luck.

"We can go in my car," Alec said as they locked up the house and walked outside. "No offence, but I'm not getting on the back of your motorcycle." Jace nodded and followed Alec to where his car was parked. The drive to the garage was quiet, which worked just fine for Jace. Alec had never been a big talker, and Jace was lost in his thoughts, so the music coming from the radio was all that filled the car. "So, Jon is cool—he seemed to like you the other night, although he didn't want to talk about work and shit while we were all out at dinner. But both me and Seb told him that you're good with cars, and that you've got a good work ethic, and that's all that he really wants."

"So there are spots open for hiring?" Jace asked. "Because Sebastian wasn't too sure."

"We're dealing with things okay at the moment, Jon's not actively looking to hire someone else, but one of the guys—Jem—is thinking about leaving. His girlfriend lives in San Bernardino and they're doing the long distance thing at the moment, but he is thinking about moving out there. Things are pretty busy, so even if he doesn't leave, an extra pair of hands around will help," Alec shrugged. "Jon doesn't really care too much, as long as you do your job and get on fine with everyone else."

"Sounds good," Jace leaned forward in his seat when he noticed that the car started slowing down. It was in between a residential and an industrial neighbourhood, a house next to the garage and then a dairy on the other side, then a panel beaters across the road.

"Jon lives next door," Alec said as he pulled into the driveway of the garage, steering the car around to the back of the garage where he could see a couple of other cars parked up, including a motorbike that made his eyebrows raise. It was gorgeous, and he wondered if it was Jon's. Alec followed his gaze and snorted. "You and Sebastian always did have similar taste."

"That's Seb's?" Jace grunted as he swallowed something he didn't quite understand.

Maybe it was a flare of annoyance at Sebastian for once again showing one of the reasons why Jace had fallen for him originally. But that had been years ago. They had both moved on. And so no, it wasn't annoyance. It was just...Old feelings resurfacing because he wasn't used to being around him. And it wasn't as though they ever parted ways with things all resolved, so his heart obviously just hadn't closed things off completely with Sebastian.

Definitely something that he needed to tamper down.

"Come on, let's head in," Alec said as he got out of the car. He started walking toward the back door of the garage, not bothering to wait for Jace to get out of the car or locking it, so obviously the neighbourhood was safe enough. He opened the back door and Jace rolled up the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing before following after him. Alec was already dressed in a pair of oil stained overalls, tied around the waist with a short sleeved shirt on that he clearly didn't mind getting dirty, and he walked over to small office that came off the main garage. "Yo, Jon? Jace is here." Jace looked around at the equipment in the garage as he walked through, eyes skimming over the three men who were already there. Sebastian was one of them, and he gave Jace a welcoming, toothy smile. There was Jordan, who nodded a greeting at him, and a younger guy, who he guessed could be Jem.

"Hey," Jace nodded at Jon as he reached the office, trying not to feel too nervous about meeting him. He knew this wasn't like a normal job interview, more just like a friendly conversation, but he still felt as though he had something to prove. These were his cousins best friends—and Sebastians—and he felt as though he needed to show them what he could do.

"Hi," Jonathon nodded at him. "So Seb and Alec both have said that you're good with cars, been working around them for a while in New York, is that right?" Jace nodded his head, not sure what else he was meant to say. "Well, we could use an extra person. One of the guys here is thinking about leaving, and even if he wasn't, we're always quite busy, so it's hard if someone wants time off." Jace once again nodded. "I don't really have the downtime to take on a new apprentice or anything, which is why I haven't gotten around to hiring anyone, but if you're all fully trained and shit, then you'll work well. I'll give you a few weeks trial, see how you fit, and then we'll take it from there?"

"That sounds fair," Jace agreed, mainly because it sounded far, far more than fair, but he didn't want to look too overeager.

"Can you start today?" Jonathon looked over what Jace was wearing, a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. It wasn't the nicest stuff that he owned, but it was still tidy and clean, and not the sort of thing that he would usually wear to work. "We're about the same size if you wanted to borrow a pair of my sweatpants and a shirt from my place next door," Jonathon jerked a thumb over his shoulder, Jace's eyebrows lifting in surprise. "And then find a pair of overalls that fit and get started." Jonathon got up from the desk he was sitting at and Jace saw that he was wearing his overalls similar to Alec, tied at his waist. "I'll see you out there—I need to open up," he nodded at the pair before brushing past them to go into the main part of the garage.

"That seemed..." Jace pursed his lips together as he watched Jonathon walk to the front of the garage and press a button on the wall which started lifting up the roller door that faced out toward the street. "Too easy."

"Sometimes life's easy," Alec commented, and his words were careful as he looked sideways at his cousin. "Anyway, Jon always leaves the side door unlocked, and his bedroom is the first door on the left. He'll have his clothes spread out everywhere in the room, just find something that looks clean."

"Sounds promising," Jace responded wryly, and Alec grinned before turning to go back into the garage. Jace walked toward the back door, easily seeing where Jonathon would go between the garage and his own property. The wooden fence had a gate which was pushed open with a concrete block to keep it from closing, and by the way grass was growing around the block, he was guessing that it was permanently held open. He walked up the back steps to the house, tentatively pushing at the door and then stepping inside. He felt like an intruder, just stepping inside the house, but he moved quickly to get to Jonathon's bedroom so that he could find a change of clothes. He found a pair of a sweatpants and a shirt—the pants were a little bit long and the shirt was a bit tight—and folded his own clothes, planning on leaving them in Alec's car before going back into the garage.

As Jace turned to leave, he saw a single framed photo on the table beside the door and he couldn't help but pick it up and look at it. It was a group shot, at the beach. Isabelle and Simon had their arms wrapped around each other, Magnus and Jon were laughing and looking sideways at each other, Alec was pulling the fingers, and Sebastian had his arm around the red head Jace now knew was Clary, who was holding Max on her hip. They all looked so completely comfortable with each other, so happy, and he couldn't help but feel that _that_ was so far out of reach.

Jace shook off the feeling, putting the photo back down and leaving the house.

The day went surprisingly well. Not that Jace thought it would go _badly_ , because he was good when it came to cars, he knew exactly what he was doing, but he was still a bit worried about needing to fit in with everyone. Alec was mainly quiet, just like he usually was, although he laughed and joked with the rest of them when they took a lunch break. Jon was clearly the one in charge when they all settled into their routine, making sure people were filling in paperwork as they finished the cars, and also divvying up the work load. Sebastian was second in charge, and a lot more relaxed, but still extremely good at his job, and he was also the one who had control over the stereo. Jem was the youngest, and he was loud and full of energy, and Jace could imagine that if he did left, his absence would be felt.

When the day ended, Jon gave him a nod and a half smile before disappearing into his office, and Sebastian came over to him, slapping a hand down on his shoulder and giving him a squeeze.

"Jon hasn't really said anything yet," he stated with a grin, and it wasn't fair how attractive Sebastian looked when he was slightly sweaty with his hair pushed back and some grease smeared on his neck. "But you're good at what you do, and that's obvious. I don't think there's going to be any problems with you getting a job here, if that's what you want."

"Yeah," Jace nodded. "Yeah, that would be good." Sebastian flashed him a smile.

"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you," Jace returned his smile before Sebastian turned around to go toward the office where Jonathon had gone.

"You ready?" Alec called from the doorway and Jace lifted his eyes to where his cousin was standing, giving him an expectant look. Jace nodded and walked over to him, saying goodbye to Jem who was doing some last minute work on a minivan that had been dropped off by an exasperated soccer mum. The kid gave a cheerful smile and waved, and then Jace was following Alec outside to the car. Alec was checking his phone when they got into the car, pausing before putting his key in the ignition, and Jace looked over at him when he noticed the concerned expression on his face.

"You okay?" Jace asked.

"Uh, yeah," Alec frowned as he put his phone in the cup holder between their seats. "Magnus has sent me a couple of texts, saying that there's some problem, and that we'll talk about it when we get home."

"Is he okay?" Jace's tone was concerned.

"Yeah, he said he was fine, but apparently it was important enough for him to send me three texts," Alec muttered as he put his seat belt on and started reversing down the driveway. Jace could see that Alec was worried, but he didn't say anything to push the matter on the way home. There was nothing more that Alec knew anyway, so it wasn't like they were going to get any answers by just voicing their concerns. The ride home took longer than getting to work in the afternoon traffic, but it was nothing compared to rush hour in New York. When they got home, there were no clear indications about what was wrong, but appearances could be deceiving. Alec parked his car and the pair got out, going inside to where Magnus was cooking dinner. "Mags? What's going on?"

"Alexander," Magnus turned around, and there was a half smile on his face, but he winced a little when he saw Jace. "Right, yes, I sent you a couple of texts."

"Yeah, and you didn't tell me what was wrong," Alec sounded annoyed.

"Ye-ah," Magnus lifted up his hand to run through his hair. "My grandmother called."

"Is she alright?" Alec asked, and Jace shifted in the doorway, feeling out of place as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Uh, she's fine, and so is my mother," Magnus said. "Except a pipe burst in their apartment and you know what their landlords like. He told them that he would get onto it, but he couldn't give her an exact time, and so they've got nowhere to go, and so..." he clenched his teeth together. "So they asked if they could stay here."

"Of course," Alec answered instantly, and then clicked with the problem. "Oh," he looked over at Jace. Jace shifted from foot to foot and tried not to pay attention to the panic in his chest. "Okay, no that's okay, we can work this out." Alec stepped back from his partner and clicked his tongue in his mouth. "I mean, you can always sleep in the lounge..." Alec trailed off as he looked through to their lounge. Their house was in no way small, not like the apartment building Jace and his mother had lived in in New York but if there were two extra people coming to stay, and then him as well, it was going to be too crowded.

"It's okay, I can...I can figure something out," Jace replied, giving them a strained smile.

"Hey—we're not just throwing you out!" Magnus stated. "You're not going anywhere til we figure this out. _Together_." Jace's smile grew a little bit more at that, and his cousins boyfriend reached over to give him a friendly nudge with his elbow before his eyes widened. "Hey! What about Seb and Clary? They've got a shit tonne of space!" Alec's eyes darted over to Jace, a contemplative look on his face.

"They _do_ have a lot of room for just the two of them," he began slowly. Jace tried not to outwardly cringe at the idea of living with his ex-lover and his current girlfriend, who it sounded like he was in complete and utter love with. But he didn't have all that many options, and if they were willing to put him up while he got enough to money scraped together to find his own place, or even until Magnus' mother and grandmother moved back into their place, then it would be helpful.

"Okay," Jace stated, hoping his voice didn't sound as grating to them as it did to his own ears. "I'll give him a call."

 _I haven't really watched any movies since I last updated, but I've been binging this TV show called_ Bitten _, recommended by the lovely reppinda5o3, who has now moved on from recommending fics to TV shows! I'd be lost without her. It's not award winning or anything, but I really wanted another werewolf show to watch, and so it definitely scratched that itch. If that's the sort of thing you're into, definitely check it out if you haven't already._

 _On the music side of things, I've had_ Crying in the Club _by Camila Cabello on repeat for, like, the past week. I fucking loooooove it. I was never a fan of Fifth Harmony, but I absolutely adore this song. Also_ Power of Love _by Gabrielle Aplin, which I heard ages ago, but then I heard it on something recently and put it back on my phone and have just had it playing everyday on the way to and from work. It's just...It's just so pretty and makes my heart ache just a little._

 _Also on the subject of music, the One Love Manchester concert that Ariana Grande got together...All of those artists coming together and so quickly after the horrible event was beautiful. My heart went out to Ariana, she was really having a hard time holding it together. And Miley Cyrus was a beautiful human, as per usual. A lot of people are trying to drag the event through the mud, saying that worse things happen all the time, saying that she is just doing it for attention...Come on, just accept a nice, good thing. Our world is full of shit, horrible things, we have to love and accept the good when it comes along xx_

 _Anyway! Please make sure you leave a few words, let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. Just a couple of words make the hard work worth it! And make sure to let me know if you want a preview xx_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, guys! A little bit of a lengthy AN here, sorry. So, as we all know, real life unfortunately has to come first, even if I would love to just binge watch my favourite shows, with my kitties and my hubby, and type away all day. Anyway, I've gotten a new job, which I start in a few weeks time, and the hours are a lot better than the one I'm doing now, but it will take some adjusting to, and learning all new stuff, which means my brain will be a little fried at the end of the day. Also, there's some problems with my husband and his job, and recently a friend's younger brother committed suicide, which has caused a few stresses with my group of friends._

 _Bottom line is that my updating is going to be changing a little, just for the next few months, hopefully, until everything has evened back out again. So any stories that are on my regular updating schedule will be getting updated once a month, and any that aren't on the regular schedule, well, they'll be updated every few months._

 _Sorry about this guys, but that's just the way life goes some time. I appreciate your understanding and love xx_

Magnus' mother and grandmother were sweet woman, both of them obviously feeling bad about the fact that Jace was needing to find other accommodation because of what had happened. Devi Bane, his mother, had fussed over him and made sure he had plenty of blankets and pillows to make himself comfortable on the pull out couch. Diana Bane was similar, insisting that they could book a hotel for the next few weeks as they waited for their apartment to be cleaned out and made inhabitable again. They hadn't realized that they were going to be putting Jace out by coming to stay with Magnus and his partner when they had first spoken to him.

Jace had shaken his head, feeling a little stunned at the hospitality being shown to him by two woman who had never met him before. Even when they had gone to bed that night, the older woman sharing the spare bed for the night since he was on the pull out couch, the only other bed in the house, they kept making sure that he was okay. It had taken him a while to get to sleep, trying not to think about the fact that tomorrow he was going to spending the night _at Sebastian's house_.

"You know, we could maybe work something else out," Alec said as he and Jace walked out of the house the next morning, toward Alec's car and Jace's bike.

"No, it's totally fine," Jace tried to reassure his cousin as he put his bag on the back of his bike and strapped it on. "Sebastian said I could stay with him, and if things get too crowded there, I'll figure something out from that point." Alec pursed his lips together, looking back toward the house before back at Jace.

"Look, I never really asked about what happened between you and Sebastian," Alec began slowly. "I mean, I _know_ of the stuff that happened but I don't know..." he broke awkwardly and scrunched up his nose. "I mean, I don't know how serious things were, I guess is what I'm trying to say. But Seb seemed...He seemed pretty hung up on your for a while, and I kind of got the impression that you felt the same way about him." Jace found it hard to swallow as he looked away from his cousin. "I know you said that you were fine working with him, but it's a little bit different to be _living_ with him...And Clary."

"It's going to be fine, Alec," Jace finally said as he picked up the helmet for his bike. "Just like I said." Alec didn't look as though he was convinced, but just like the other morning, he didn't say anything else. Alec drove ahead of Jace to the garage in his car, with Jace behind on his bike. When he got into work, Sebastian grinned at him from the other side where he was standing beside a Porsche next to Jem, and Jon jerked his head by way of greeting.

Once he got to work under the hood of the car, Jace felt a lot more at ease, ignoring who he was going home with at the end of the day.

* * *

"Do we need to head back to Alec and Mags' house to pick up the rest of your stuff?" Sebastian asked as he came over to where Jace was scrubbing his hands.

"Nah, I've only got the one bag," Jace replied as he finally decided he had probably got as much oil and grease off his hands as was ever going to happen. "I've stored it over there." Sebastian glanced over to where Jace's bag was and then back at Jace, an expression on his face that Jace couldn't quite recognize. But then he blinked and grinned.

"Well, that's easy. You wanna go?"

"Ready when you are," Jace nodded, shoving his hands into the front of the ratty pair of jeans he had worn. Jem had already left, after giving them one final off key and extremely loud rendition of Beyoncé's _Crazy In Love_.

"Alright, let's head out," Sebastian nodded, waving over his shoulder to Jon and Alec, who were still in the garage. Alec raised an eyebrow at Jace, as though to make sure that his cousin was okay. Jace wasn't a hundred percent that he _was_ okay, because he was still feeling a bit nervous about the fact that he was going home with the blonde he had slept with on more than one occasion and had pined over for a long time. But he flashed a quick smile at Alec before reaching down to pick up his canvas bag from where he had stashed it by the door to keep it out of the sun throughout the day. "So, you good to just follow me home? We don't live all that far away."

"Yeah, sounds good," Jace nodded as they walked over to where their bikes were parked close to each other. It wasn't even fair how good Sebastian looked sitting astride his expensive bike. The sweatpants he was wearing had been riding low on his hips all day, making all sorts of sweaty scenarios play out in Jace's head despite how much he tried to push it out of his head, and now that he had pulled on a hoodie and a motorbike helmet and swung his leg over the seat of his bike, and Jace ws getting a whole new flood of fantasies.

 _He had survived years without Sebastian, and he had only been back for a week and his mind was already betraying him._

"You ready?" Sebastian's voice was muffled from behind his helmet as he looked over his shoulder to where Jace was on his own bike. Jace blinked and nodded his head. Sebastian flipped down the eye protector and turned on the engine of his bike. Jace turned on his own, and a moment later they were steering their bikes down the driveway and onto the road. Jace kept a few paces behind Sebastian in case he made any turns. He was right when he had said that he didn't live that far away, because after driving through the residential area for a couple more minutes, before Sebastian was slowing down. He turned down a paved driveway and Jace followed after him. The house was bigger than Magnus and Alec's, with a large backyard. There was a garage at the end of the driveway that was closed.

"This is..." Jace glanced around, over at the large deck that wound from the back of the house and around the side. There were a couple of trees at the back of the yard, well kept flower gardens, clipped grass, an expensive barbeque on the deck next to some outdoor furniture, chairs and a table. "This is nice," he concluded.

"I know," Sebastian murmured as he looked around as well. "We're really lucky. One of Clary's dad is a property developer, and so he rents the place out to us for pretty cheap. Same with the house next to Jon's garage." That was a strange way of putting it, 'one of Clary's dad's' Jace noted but just nodded in agreement with Sebastian who approached the garage and unlocked it, jerking the roller door upward. Inside was a silver car, parked to one side. There was a surf board, a lawn mower and a couple of boxes on the other side of the garage and Sebastian wheeled his bike inside. "Just park your bike in here, I'll have to find the spare set of keys for you, so you've got one for the garage and the house." He waited for Jace to bring his bike into the garage as well and grab his canvas bag off the back before they headed up the couple of steps toward the back door. Sebastian opened the sliding door wide to let air circulate after being closed up all day and Jace tightened his grip on the handles of his canvas bag as he stepped into the home of Sebastian and his girlfriend.

The lounge was nice, a big TV secured on the wall beside a door that lead off to another part of the house, with electronics underneath; a stereo, Playstation 4 and Blu-Ray player among them. There was an L shaped sofa, a two seater couch and an arm chair, with a wooden and glass coffee table in the middle, a side table propped between the the couch and the arm chair with a couple of knick knacks on it. There was a photo on top of the shelves with all the electronics, one of Sebastian with his group of friends, including Clary, who was laughing and looking unfairly pretty in a blue dress. On the wall there was a large canvas painting and even Jace, who really knew nothing about art, could tell that it was good. It was a close up of a flower, the centre a smattering of green, and the four petals that were on the canvas were in different shades of blue and purple as they reached for the edges of the painting.

"Clary's," Sebastian nodded at the painting as he noticed what Jace was looking at. "She does painting when she's not busy."

"She's good," Jace responded, hoping that he didn't sound begrudging when he said it.

"She is," Sebastian smiled proudly, and Jace could tell—not for the first time—that the man was smitten.

"What does she do for a living?" Jace asked.

"She's an insurance investigator," Sebastian said before looking down at the coffee table and wincing at the two empty beer bottles that were sitting there. "She's away at a conference in Boston at the moment which is why I can get away with leaving my rubbish out overnight," he winced playfully as he picked up the two bottles and walked through the archway into the kitchen. "Anyway, so this is the kitchen, and the laundry is through there—" he waved his arm at a door to a small room off the kitchen. "Obviously you've already seen the lounge, so if we just go through here..." he lead Jace through the doorway on the other side of the lounge. "That's Clary's room, for her painting and all that shit." Jace looked into the room, which had an easel with another canvas on it, half painted in swirling yellows and pinks and blues, forming the shape of a woman's head. There were painting supplies all over a long desk, and more canvases leaning up against the wall.

"She's _really_ good," Jace repeated his previous words.

"Yeah," Sebastian grinned before carrying on. "That's the bathroom. Uh, there's a lot of products and shit in the shower, just try to avoid it. I swear out of all of it, only one of the body washes are mine, the rest is all hers," he grinned again. "Just kick it all to the side or whatever if it gets in your way when you're in there," he pointed to the room right at the end of the hall, the door partially open. "That's our room, that's the spare room with a heap of our junk in it," he jerked his thumb at the door next to it. "And then this is your room," he pushed open the last door.

It was similar to the spare bedroom at Alec and Magnus', a double bed against one wall with long windows, a set of drawers against the other wall and a long bookshelf, completely filled with books. They were a mixed lot of books, Jace noticed at a quick glance, some of them looked like trashy romance novels, and then he saw a couple of car magazines tucked in there as well.

"So Clary does most of the cooking around here. I can do some of the basics, but I was thinking that tonight I could just order us some pizza and we could watch something on Netflix?" Sebastian suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds perfect," Jace answered honestly, and Sebastian grinned.

"Okay, I'll go order the pizza. You shower first, the towels are in the cupboard beside the bathroom, just hang it over one of the hooks behind the door in the bathroom when you're done," Sebastian replied. "Shout out when you're done, and I'll get in the shower before the pizza guy gets here." Jace blinked as he remembered back to when he and Sebastian had squeezed into the tiny shower at his apartment back at New York, and then blinked again as he tried to get rid of the memory.

The pair of them took turns showering, and Jace ensured that he stayed in the spare bedroom after he got out of the shower with the door firmly shut until the pizza guy arrived and Sebastian was most definitely fully dressed before he came out. They settled down on the L shaped sofa together, Sebastian up where the bend was, leaning against the back while Jace sat on the straight side, twisting his head to look up at the TV. They had fumbled through Netflix for a while before Sebastian discovered that Jace had never seen _Sense8_ and insisted that that was what they were going to be binging on.

They shared the pizza and had a couple of beers before falling into companionable silence as they watched the show. It was good, Jace could definitely see that, but after the first two episodes, he had to admit that he wasn't really paying any more attention to the show. Because Sebastian propped his legs up on the couch and spread them out so that his toes were touching Jace's thigh, seemingly completely unaware of how that affected Jace. The golden haired man slumped down further into the cushions of the sofa, dozing off to the comforting hum of the TV and the light weight of Sebastian's feet against his leg.

 _The songs I would recommend this time around are_ The Other Side _by Ruelle,_ Unpredictable _by Olly Murs and_ Professional Rapper _by Little Dicky—watch the video for this one as well! I've got tickets to go see the new Spiderman movie this Friday! Pretty psyched about it. And on the subject of Zendaya, have you guys seen the trailer for_ The Greatest Showman _? Holy shit, she looks fucking gorgeous in it, the whole trailer does, really. Even by hubby thinks it looks amazing._

 _Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, and feel free to recommend songs or any fics :) xx_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi, my pretties! Updating only once a month feels so weird, I feel like it's been half a year since I've updated! But my life is starting to even out again, and so maybe next month or the one after I'll be able to go back to two monthly updates :) Now, something that I wanted to say, was that I've written up summaries for all the new stories that I'm working on, and I've put them up on my profile. So go check them out and let me know what you think of them! I'm always happy to talk about new stories if you guys have any questions or want to talk :)_

"Come on—we'll make a stop before going home. There is this amazing burger place down on the water front!" Sebastian grinned over at Jace. "Let's go down there for dinner."

"Are you talking about _Taki's Diner_?" Jem's eyes lit up with interest. "Is this an open invitation or is this just for the Sebastian, Clary and Jace household?" Sebastian laughed at the hopeful expression on Jem's face.

"Yeah, sure thing," he nodded before looking over the younger mans shoulder and toward where Jonathon was packing up everything in the office. "Yo, Jon! You want to come down with us to get _Taki's Diner_?" Jonathon's nod was clear through the window and Sebastian grinned and looked back at Jem and Jace. "Okay, so we're all sorted. You want to get a ride with one of us or you want to come down with Jon?"

"I'll wait for Jon, you guys go ahead," Jem grinned and Jace couldn't help but smile at him. The kid always seemed so happy, and even if he was an absolutely terrible singer, Jace liked the way Jem sang loudly along with the radio, especially raising his voice when a terrible pop song was playing.

"Okay, we'll meet you down there," Sebastian said and waved a hand at Jace, encouraging him to follow.

It had been three days since Jace had gone to stay with Sebastian. It had been relaxed and easy. After work they went home, took turns showering and then convened in the lounge. They had ordered in every night that week, Sebastian saying that he was pretty much useless in the kitchen when Clary wasn't around, although he could make amazing pancakes, which he would make in the weekend. Jace made sure to tidy up after himself, which wasn't a hardship, since he could be a bit of a clean freak anyway, and he kept bringing up the subject of payment with Sebastian, who just brushed it off and said that they would sort it out when Clary was back in town.

They reached the waterfront about twenty minutes later, taking a little bit longer than usual because of the Friday night traffic, but nowhere near as long as it would have taken if they were in an actual car. The girl behind the counter seemed to recognize Sebastian because she waved at them when they came inside.

"You seem to have some pretty regular spots around here," Jace noted as they hauled themselves up on the barstools beside the windows that were wide open and looked out over the beach and down to where the waves were rolling in.

"Lived here all my life," Sebastian shrugged. "Most of us have, actually."

"Really?" Jace's eyebrow quirked.

"Yup," Sebastian nodded. "I mean, you already know that Alec and Izzy have been here forever, and so have I. Izzy left for a few years when she was fresh out of high school to go to Boston for a bit, which you already know—" Jace vaguely remembered it being mentioned in one of the sporadic conversations that he had had, and he nodded. "Clary and Jon have also been here since they moved from New York when they were teenagers."

"Clary and Jon lived in New York?" Jace asked.

"Yeah...Their parents have a bit of a complex relationship, and so they traveled between New York and LA for a while, before moving here permanently when Clary was eleven and Jon was fourteen. They moved in down the block from my parents house, and so we all started hanging out. Or at least, me and Jon did, Clary got on well with Izzy and Simon, but they didn't really start hanging out with the rest of us for a few years," Sebastian explained. Jace was about to open his mouth to respond when there was movement behind them and he lifted his eyes to see Jem and Jonathon coming their way.

"I need to eat," Jem groaned as he jumped up onto the barstool next to Jace while Jonathon got onto the one by Sebastian. "Seriously, I want about sixty burgers with a side of fries for every single one."

"I don't think Clancy will be very happy when I pass that on to him," the waitress appeared behind them, giving them all a wide smile. Jace appraised her as he turned around, the way her blonde hair was tied high on her head in a peppy pony tail, and she was wearing a pair of cut denim shorts and a tight sleeveless shirt that showed off a strip of skin across her lower stomach. Jonathon turned around in his stool and smirked at the blonde. "Hey, babe," the waitress reached up and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, how's it going? You guys seem busy tonight," Jonathon replied as he looped an arm around her waist and giving her a squeeze as he looked around the diner. "Think you'll still be getting off at eight."

"Hell yes," the blonde nodded. "I'm not pulling any overtime tonight, I've been covering Jane's ass for the past two weeks, _she's_ the one staying late if it's still busy."

"You need me to pick you up?" Jonathon asked.

"Yup," she nodded with a grin. "Anyway, I better get your orders and head back." The rest of the group seemed to know exactly what they wanted and so Jace had to read over the menu quickly so that the waitress wasn't waiting long after they had placed their order. She told them they would have their meals in about fifteen minutes and then skipped away after giving Jonathon another kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, and that's Lydia," Sebastian finally commented, giving the waitresses name. "Her and Jon have been going out for the past couple of months."

"Jon's pretty whipped," Jem teased and the older man raised an eyebrow at the younger one.

"I really don't think you've got any ground to stand on when it comes to being whipped, given you drop everything for your girl," Jonathon replied with a smirk. Jem just shrugged, not looking at all bothered. "And speaking about being whipped," Jonathon lifted his eyes to look at Sebastian, and Jem laughed. "Clare is back tonight, right?"

"Yup," Sebastian nodded. "Simon is bringing her back from the airport since he's working late out in that area tonight." Jace swallowed, hoping that the way his lips twitched wasn't noticeable as he looked back out the open windows to the ocean, feeling a little uncomfortable at the mention of the girlfriend that he _knew_ existed but that he hadn't met yet. "We're all still on for the beach this weekend, right? Tess coming out?"

"She's coming down tomorrow morning, and then heading back late Sunday night," Jem nodded.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Jace surmised as he looked over to the younger boy, and he nodded again.

"We went to school together here, but then she moved to study," Jem replied. "Long distance thing is kind of hard, but we're making it work." Conversation shifted, and then they were talking about the new movies coming out over the next few months, and Jon was teased some more when Lydia came back with their food and he gave her a lingering kiss. It was easy, just like at the garage, and Jace felt comfortable, and at him, as though he had been a part of this family for years.

* * *

"Hey, Jace?" Sebastian said as they stepped into the dark house. It was almost eleven o'clock, Jace hadn't realized how late it had gotten when they were down at the burger bar, not even noticing as the sky had turned dark and the people on the beach pulled some clothes over their swimming outfits. Lydia had ended up joining them after a few hours, and they had had a few more lots of chips between them and a couple of beers, and it had been nice, but Jace couldn't help but continue to think that tonight Clary was coming home, and things were probably going to change. "I just..." he took in a deep breath and Jace wished that he could see his friends face. They had just walked into the lounge and Sebastian hadn't yet turned on the light, and there was only hazy light from the moon. "We haven't really talked about Clary."

"I didn't realize we needed to," Jace responded quietly, his stomach tightening uncomfortably.

"I just wanted you to know that nothing's going to change—you know, between us," Sebastian continued, and he shuffled forward slightly, and Jace realized that they were now standing quite close together. In fact, when there was a breeze through the doorway, Jace could smell the scent of Sebastian's cologne so strongly that his nose twitched. "I know that we've got history, and I know that it was a long time ago and we've both moved on—" Jace was glad that it was dark because his eyes would probably give him away. "—and that's cool. But these past couple of days have been awesome, having you back, and it's been good because it's just been the two of us. I just don't want you to think that Clary coming back is going to change anything. We can still watch TV, go out for burgers with the boys—she's totally fine with you being here, and she's real chill."

"Thanks, Seb," Jace managed to say, even though he was still feeling a little bit stifled being in such close proximity to him, while being completely surrounded in darkness. "Uh..." he cleared his throat. "I'm going to have a shower and head to bed."

"Okay, see you in the morning," there was a flash of white in the dark, Sebastian sending a smile his way, and then Jace was quickly walking in the direction of the hallway. He bumped into the corner of the couch on the way, but recovered and almost sprinted to the bathroom.

It was just old feelings resurfacing.

It was because it felt so easy and relaxed and comfortable, and Clary hadn't been here, so it felt like old times.

He could easily push that down.

It would go away.

Jace showered quickly and brushed his teeth, leaving the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist as he crossed the hall to his bedroom. His ankle caught the corner of the door, kicking it closed behind him, although his kick hadn't been quite powerful enough to close it all the way. He turned on the lamp beside the bed and glanced around the room which was now starting to look a little more lived in that the guest bedroom it had been before. He hadn't properly unpacked yet, because despite what Sebastian and the other said, he really didn't know how things were going to be when Clary came back, so he didn't want to get comfortable and then end up having to leave. But most of his things had ended up out of his canvas bag and on the chair in the corner, or in the washing basket if he'd worn them to work.

It was around eleven-thirty by the time he turned off the bedside lamp and climbed into bed, plugging his phone in and putting it on the side table. He had only had four beers when he was at the burger joint, but other than the burger and chips that he had had, he hadn't eaten, so the alcohol seemed to be swirling around in his head.

It had been about half an hour and he was almost asleep when he heard the front door shutting firmly and then a loud exclaim from the lounge, which was directly behind the wall that his headboard was pressed against. His eyes flew open and there was a strange feeling in his chest as he heard the tones of a female voice, and he guessed that Clary was home. Jace could hear the voices of the couple speaking to each other but they were low enough that he couldn't actually make out what they were saying. That tight feeling in his chest just got worse when the talking _stopped_ and he heard a squeak of shoes scraping over the wooden floors.

Jace instantly regretted not shutting his door properly as he heard the shuffling feet get closer and then a thud as the lounge door hit against the wall.

" _Shit_." That was a girl's voice. Clary's. Soft and a little husky, and she followed it up with a giggle that was quickly smothered, and then she let out a short squeal and another laugh, this time it wasn't cut off. She sounded genuinely happy and Jace took in a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to force his brain to turn off, to ignore what was happening outside the walls of his bedroom.

There was another bump, this time in the hallway, getting closer to his bedroom door. He could hear the soft mumblings and the slick sound of mouths coming together, and Jace shifted uncomfortably in his bed. In all fairness, they probably thought that he was asleep, since his light had been out for over half an hour and it was nearing midnight. They also probably weren't used to sharing their house with overnight guests, so trying to keep down their interlude was the last thing on their mind—especially after they hadn't seen each other for two weeks.

"Fuck, I've missed you," Sebastian groaned, his voice low and gravelly, and the tone did all sorts of things to Jace, and his cock jerked in the briefs he was wearing, completely against his will. "You smell so... _Fucking good_ ," his words were a bit muffled, and Jace was ashamed to admit that he was straining to hear what they were saying. Sebastian was probably speaking against her skin, his face buried in her neck or maybe even making it's way down her chest to kiss her breasts.

Jace bit down on his lower lip to stop himself from groaning out loud, not wanting to alert them to the fact that he was still awake and blatantly listening.

There was a thud and from the direction of the footsteps on the floor, Jace was guessing that they were heading to the bedroom. Part of him hoped that they would close their bedroom door so that he wouldn't be able to hear them anymore, but another part of him hoped that they would keep it open.

There was a throaty moan that he knew was Sebastian and his cock jumped again, this time bringing it to completely erect, pressing against the band of his briefs. His hand twitched at his side, his fingers itching to touch himself through the material. Things went quiet for a few moments, and he wondered if they had stopped, but then he heard the moan again— _Sebastian's_ moan—and he couldn't help himself. It felt wrong—it _was_ wrong—but he lifted his hand and palmed himself through his briefs.

"Come on, Clary," Sebastian's voice was rough. "Fuck, your mouth is good...Fuck..." Jace's whole body was on edge, now that he knew exactly what was happening. Clary was sucking off Sebastian, maybe she was laying on the bed and he was braced over her, maybe she was on her knees on the ground and he was fucking her mouth—that's what he used to love, and Jace loved being on the floor in front of him. Jace's teeth bit so hard into his lower lip that he wondered if he had broken the skin, but then he was putting his hand underneath his briefs and wrapped a hand around his cock.

The pressure felt so good he could have cried, and the hand that wasn't clasped around his cock scratched over his thigh.

He remembered one night back in New York. They were drunk, and Jace had ended up on his knees on the hard, wooden floors. Sebastian had his hands in his hair and was jerking his hips forward so that his cock was driving hard down Jace's throat. Jace's eyes were shut as he remembered that night, and then mingled together with the moans coming from just down the hall from the exact man who had been the focus of so many of his fantasies, had him on edge almost straight away.

"On the bed, babe," Sebastian's voice was so low, but Jace was determined to hear as much as he could. He was in too deep now anyway, and there was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep if he didn't get off. There were some muffled thumps, maybe the two of them getting positioned on the bed, and he wondered what position they were in. If Clary was going to be on top of him, riding him. Or if Jace was going to have her on her back, legs in the air, slamming her into the bed. There was some talking that he couldn't quite hear, far too low, intimate words directly into one anothers ears. "You look so good like this..." Sebastian was talking a little louder now, so they must be positioned a little further apart. "On your hands and knees..."

"Yeah, well, if you like it so much, is there a reason that you're not fucking me yet?" Clary spoke properly for the first time, and even though her voice was heavy with lust, there was a teasing edge to it. Jace had seen photos of her, she was a pretty girl, and it sounded as though she didn't take things too seriously either, if she could joke around in the middle of sex.

He would probably really like her if she wasn't currently getting done by the hottest guy he had ever met who also happened to be his ex-lover.

There was the sound of a slap, a hand on skin, and Jace's whole body arched off the bed as he put two and two together, and was envisioning Sebastian slapping Clary's ass. Then there was barely any other noise, other than the grunts and sighs from the pair, and the dull sound of skin on skin.

Jace twisted his hand around the head of his cock, spreading the come and pressing his thumb against the frenulum. His other hand cupped his sac, rolling them in his hand, squeezing them, tugging at them. He started jacking himself faster, his toes curling into the sheet of the bed, and he had to shove one of his hands into his mouth as he finally came to keep himself from shouting out. Come splattered against his chest, and he was glad that he wasn't wearing a shirt or else it would have been completely covered.

He laid in bed, breathing in shakily as he slowly recovered, and a first minutes later, he heard the tell-tale moan of Sebastian coming, and a whimpering pant as Clary did as well.

 _Sooooo...I saw_ The Hitmans Bodyguard _last weekend with the man and a few friends, and it was fucking hilarious. I definitely recommend. Another movie I watched a week or so ago was_ Below Her Mouth _. It was on Netflix and yeah, okay, it's about 80% sex scenes, but I absolutely fucking loved it. Erika Linder is just...Holy shit, she is fucking beautiful. So both of these, I recommend! One that I'm a little iffy on is_ Friends From College _. My husband and I watched it all in the space of one weekend. The cast was incredible, they're all good actors and they all had so much chemistry with each other—Felix was my absolute favourite—but I felt so, so, so angry at the end. I won't explain it on here because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but shit I was angry at the end!_

 _Now, song wise...Lili Reinhart's cover of_ Wicked Games _. Holy shit. It's absolutely beautiful, and I have played it so many times on Youtube, it's insane. The other songs I've had on repeat recently are_ Havana _by Camilla Cabello,_ Fight Like A Girl _by Zolita and_ Bird _by Billie Marten. I've also put some of my old songs on my phone to play at work, and so I've been listening to Flyleaf—my favourite by them is_ Marionette _._

 _Also, has anyone listened to the song_ 1-800-273-8255 _by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid? It's absolutely heart breaking and completely beautiful. Their performance at the VMA's had me all tearing up. Holy shit._

 _As usual—recommend songs, movies, fics in the_ Riverdale _,_ Teen Wolf _and_ Mortal Instruments _categories! Sometimes I do take a while to get around to all your recs, but I do get there! And don't forget to check out the summaries on my profile, and let me know what you think!_

 _Pleeeease leave a review, my beauties! They make me super happy, and I've got a preview for anyone who wants one :) xx_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey guys! So I'm back with a new chapter. Now...There is good and bad news. The good news is—this is the second update in the month! Yay! The bad news is...This is my last update of the year. I always go on a bit of a break over Christmas time, and I know that this is a bit earlier than my usual time, but I've got a lot going on in my life right now, and I just think that now is the best time._

 _However, I promise I will be back with more frequent next years! And also, if you guys have prompts or songs that you want me to work into a oneshot, send them through—as a thank you for sticking with me and a sorry for a bit of an extended break. Obviously I won't be able to do all of the requests, due to time restraints and also simply because sometimes an idea or song just doesn't resonate with me, but I will try my hardest! The ship/characters for the fic don't have to be limited to this fandom, you can check out my profile for other fandoms and ships that I love!_

 _Also, I've got the first chapter of four new stories up, so go check them out :)_

Jace wasn't too sure what he was going to be walking into when he got up, so he took his time before getting out of bed and leaving his room. His first step was to the bathroom, to use a damp wash cloth to wipe down his stomach and chest after his crude job of cleaning up with a one of his shirts last night. He rinsed out the cloth once he was done and then took it back to his room to add to his pile of washing that he was going to do that weekend. After getting dressed, he walked out tentatively to the lounge.

"Morning," Sebastian was standing in the door of the kitchen, wearing only a pair of loose sweatpants that were low on his hips, his tanned torso and unfairly pretty chest and toned stomach on full display. "You want some coffee? I've just done a pot."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Jace nodded as he came into the lounge, looking over his shoulder to where the TV was playing some fishing documentary. "Uh...Where's your girl?"

"Clary's out," Sebastian replied, his voice muffled from where he was back in the kitchen. "I think she's with her parents this morning, and then she's going out with Maia and a couple of the other girls, catching up since she's been away for the past few weeks." He came back into the lounge with a second cup of coffee in his hand, holding it out to Jace. Jace took it from him and sipped it out, smiling at the fact Sebastian had made the coffee exactly the way that he liked it.

Sebastian had made coffee for Jace exactly once in the past week, but he remembered the way that Jace had taken it.

That meant a stupid amount to the golden haired man.

"Anyway, I was thinking that we could go out today," Sebastian continued.

"Uh, out?" Jace raised an eyebrow, surprised at the statement. "I thought that you would be spending the day with Clary." Sebastian shrugged a shoulder and walked back into the kitchen, Jace trailing after him and leaning against the door frame. "You know, since she's back in town after being away for the past few weeks."

"Yeah, she wants to catch up with her family and her friends," Sebastian replied as he took another sip of his coffee and then started on the dishes, a couple of bowls and spoons, so it appeared as though Clary had eaten breakfast before she had left tat morning. "That's okay, we caught up last night, and then she'll be back tonight, after she's gone out with her girls." Jace couldn't help but be surprised at how blase Sebastian seemed, since it was clear how much he loved his girlfriend, but he nodded.

"So what were you thinking?'

"Paint balling," Sebastian grinned over his shoulder at Jace, and Jace had to quickly lift his eyes from where they had settled on Sebastian's ass as he bent over the sink.

"You wanna go paint balling?" Jace laughed.

"Yeah—why? You to cool for paint balling?" Sebastian gave him a pointed look and Jace shook his head, laughing again.

"No, it's just that...It's just that I haven't been paint balling in so long. I think since...Since maybe when the Lightwoods came into the city for my thirteenth birthday." It had been a good weekend.

"Then it sounds like it's time you went again," Sebastian grinned. "Maia picked up Clary so we'll take her car today. Go get dressed and ready, and then we can head out." Jace nodded, taking another moment to appreciate Sebastian's muscles back as he turned back to the sink and continued with the dishes. Jace finished his coffee in his room as he got dressed, finding the last pair of clean sweats that he had and making a mental note to do a load of washing when they got back.

It was the first time he had gotten into Clary's car, even though he had been parking his bike next to it for the past couple of days. It was surprisingly clean, especially compared to the woman's cars he had gotten into in the past; usually they were messy with make up and nail polish and clothes. There was a small tube of moisturizer, and a couple of hair ties, and a receipt for two large of coffee in the centre console, but other than that, the car seemed empty. Sebastian seemed happy to drive in quiet, the radio turned on, and as they drove, Jace thought back to when they had been together previously.

* * *

Sebastian had come into the city with Isabelle and Alec, when he was nineteen. The Lightwood siblings—Jace's cousins—made an effort to come into the city every couple of months to see him. He wasn't always able to get time off work, usually he could only afford one or two of the days that they were there, but they still did things before and after. Sebastian was their friend, and Jace had to admit that he was a little affronted when they told him that someone else would be coming with them to New York, a bit like he was intruding. Apparently he had an aunt in New York that he was visiting but after he and Jace met, it sounded as though he completely blew off that visit.

It had been weird, because Jace had never been attracted to a man before, but it had just happened the moment they were introduced. He was funny, and charismatic, and Jace wasn't someone who just opened up and let people in, but there was something about Sebastian that just made him want to tell him everything.

The four of them went to Central Park and got ice creams before settling down on the grass to watch the sunset. Jace had shifted his position on the grass and his hand had unintentionally overlapped his fingers with Sebastian's. He had made a move to pull them away, but Sebastian had crooked two of his fingers to prevent Jace from pulling his hand away. Jace had no idea what was going on, but he could barely breathe. He had to try and keep a conversation going with Alec and Isabelle while Sebastian was doing something as simple as touching his _hand_.

Alec and Isabelle had gone back to their hotel, but Sebastian had said that he wanted to stay out later. He and Jace had gone out and got a couple of beers, and then gone back to Jace's apartment. They sat on the couch in the lounge, and Jace pulled out a bottle of bourbon from his fridge and poured it into chipped mugs. He wasn't even sure who initiated the kiss, only that they were slowly shuffling closer as they poured more drinks until their thighs were pressed together and Sebastian's hand had shifted off the back of the couch to touch Jace's shoulders.

They were both clearly inexperienced—or at least, inexperienced when it came to men. The first time that their mouths had come together, it had been a weird fumble, way too dry and Sebastian hadn't shaved in a day or so, and the stubble was rubbing against Jace's skin, and that was strange. They had pulled apart and let out awkward laughs, Jace rubbing the back of his head and Sebastian scrubbing a hand over his face.

But the second time was better.

And the third time had Sebastian moaning, and the throaty, timbre of Sebastian's moan had made Jace hard in his pants, harder than he had been in a long time. Sebastian had put his hands on either side of Jace's face and pulled him in close until they were laying out on the couch, Jace stretched over Sebastian.

It was weird and different—but not in a bad way—how he could feel Sebastian's hard cock through his own shorts. Sebastian's hands were tentative, putting his hands on Jace's back, not holding too tight, maybe the way he would usually touch a woman, wanting to be careful and not bruise him. It made Jace feel better in the way that at least he wasn't the only one knew to this, but he wanted more.

"I'm not gonna break, man," Jace growled as he pulled back, only far enough that the tips of their noses were touching. He thrust his hips forward in a brave move, and was rewarded when Sebastian's eyes squeezed shut, and he felt Sebastian's blunt fingernails dig into his back. "Come _on_ ," he urged, leaning back down to kiss Sebastian's mouth. The shorter haired man moved his hands, down to Jace's ass, underneath the band of his jeans and his briefs, and he gripped him hard.

Jace hadn't come in his pants since he was fifteen, but he put it down to the fact that this was a brand new experience.

It also made him feel better that Sebastian did the same thing, biting down on his bottom lip so hard that it bled, and then letting out a laugh as he looked up at Jace. Jace had been worried that it would get weird, but it didn't. They had showered together, not doing anything else except bump against one another a couple of times. Afterwards, they went to Jace's room, Sebastian putting on a pair of Jace's sweatpants and looking damn good in them. They curled up in Jace's bed together, watching old movies on his crappy laptop, and Sebastian put his hand on Jace's hip; heavy, warm and comforting.

Sebastian had stayed the week, and other than a couple of hasty, goodbye kisses that had raised eyebrows from Isabelle and Alec, but they didn't say anything. Sebastian came by everyday after Jace finished work, and they went out for dinner, the Lightwood siblings would join them for a few hours, but then Sebastian would come back with Jace every night, and they would curl up together and watch TV. Celine was on one of her benders, and for the first time, Jace hadn't minded, because it meant that they were left in peace.

Jace had actually felt as though something inside was being stamped on when Sebastian left, and he had gone on a two day bender.

A guy that he had known for a _week_ made him do that.

And he wasn't even sure that he was going to see him again.

After Sebastian had left, he tried to forget him—he had given Jace his cell phone number before he had left, but Jace knew that it wasn't something that he could make work. They lived hours apart and Jace barely ever got time off, trying to cover the bills for his mother and himself.

So he tried to substitute Sebastian for a while, going to bars and checking out girls and guys, but it wasn't the same. There were a couple of guys that he made out with in dark corners, and there was even one sloppy hand job in the bathroom of a club, but it wasn't anything special. It definitely wasn't Sebastian.

The second time, was when he was twenty, it was about eight months later. Jace had been nervous at first, but Sebastian had given him a look while they were sitting in the lounge of the hotel room that Isabelle and Alec had rented. It was a charged gaze that had Jace excusing him from the room to calm himself down in the bathroom. When Sebastian had said that he was leaving with Jace as it got closer to eleven, Alec and Isabelle had exchanged looks with each other but hadn't said anything. It wasn't something that Jace wanted to talk about, so he ignored the looks, and the pair of them had left together.

Sebastian had seemed a bit more confident this time, pushing Jace up against the wall as they kissed, and rubbing him firmly through his jeans as soon as they got into Jace's apartment. Celine was passed out on the couch, and so they quickly made their way down to Jace's room. Sebastian had licked his lips, looking around the room before settling on a pack of condoms that was half under the bed.

"Have you got lube?" He asked and Jace's cock jerked in his shorts as he realized that something a little bit more was going to happen than just making out. Jace reached underneath the bed and found a bottle of lube that was almost empty. Sebastian's took it, settling back on the duvet and reaching out to grip Jace's thigh. "I want to do this," he said bluntly. "But if you don't want to, I'm good with just watching some shitty movie and going to sleep." The blatant honesty in his face had Jace lurching forward, ripping down his shorts, and then Sebastian's. They both poured lube onto their hands and shakily leaned forward to grip one another.

It felt strange to have someone elses cock in his hand, the weight and softness so familiar to his own yet completely different. But he adjusted quickly, and when Sebastian started jacking Jace's own cock, it was easy to just relax into it.

Jace groaned, thrusting his hips upward to meet Sebastian's hand. He tried to keep his own pace steady, wanting to make Sebastian feel as good as he did. Sebastian was grunting, bracing himself over Jace, and a moment later, he was coming, spattering over Jace's chest. Jace felt a split second of feeling proud that _he_ did that, and then he was coming as well, making a mess over Sebastian's fist and dripping down his stomach and inner thighs.

Sebastian stayed suspended over Jace for a few minutes, waiting until the initial euphoria of the orgasm wore off. He leaned down to kiss Jace, and Jace responded, wrapping an arm around Sebastian and pulling him in close, not caring that they were getting come all over themselves.

The next morning, Jace initiated the contact.

Sebastian was fast asleep, and Jace swallowed hard as he rolled over, pushing the blanket away so that he could crouch between. He pulled back the briefs that Sebastian was wearing—he had come prepared, bringing his own change of clothes—and started sucking on his cock, which was already half hard from his morning erection.

It was a bit sloppy, and Jace couldn't get his mouth all the way down—he definitely had to give props to all the girls he had been with over the years who made it look easy. Sebastian woke up after the first minute or so and he reached down and pulled Jace's hair and if that wasn't the biggest turn on that he had ever experienced, he would be lying straight through his teeth.

That day Sebastian took him out on what could only be described as a date.

There was a movie, and then there was lunch, and then they went down to the pier and Sebastian brought them both ice cream sundaes. It wasn't like they held hands and bumped hips as though they were an actual couple, but that night, Sebastian had dragged him to a fancy hotel room, just for themselves, and they spent the whole next day and night ordering room service and smoking on the balcony and taking advantage of the massive spa bath.

They didn't have sex, but they definitely experimented more with their mouths and hands, and it wasn't just his body that Jace gave over to Sebastian. He opened up about his mother, about the loneliness he felt, and Sebastian once again gave him his number, this time directly putting it into Jace's phone.

The third time was over a year later, when they were twenty-one—two years ago. By then, Jace had been with someone else, another guy who looked nothing like Sebastian. Tall, with black hair and green eyes. Gorgeous in his own right, and he felt a bit more confident with his sexuality, although he couldn't actually bring himself to have sex with someone who wasn't Sebastian.

Despite having Sebastian's number, once again, Jace knew that there was so much keeping them apart. Even with his cousins, he kept his contact to a minimum, it was too difficult to have a connection that he couldn't keep up with.

So when they met again after over a year, Jace hadn't been sure what to expect, but they managed to fumble through it, as though they had never been apart. The first night they had spent with Alec and Isabelle, and then the pair of them had crashed out on the spare bed in the Lightwoods hotel room, curling around each other. Jace had woken to Sebastian spooning him, his face buried in his neck.

There had been an awkward conversation at first, on the third day, when they decided they were actually going to have sex, and then they had to talk about who was going to be on top. Sebastian sounded as though maybe he knew what he was doing, like maybe there had been someone else, and that made jealousy flare in his stomach, irrationally. But then

He used too much lube, and his hands were shaking so much that he couldn't put the condom on—he was like a virgin. Sebastian had sat up from where he had been laying on the bed, and he had put his hands on either side of Jace's face. He had kissed him, so softly and so sweetly, that Jace felt himself relax. Sebastian had taken the condom from him and rolled it on, and then Jace finally pushed inside the blonde.

Jace panted, only able to think _tight, hot—so fucking tight_ —Sebastian looked gorgeous, head thrown back, face flushed and lips red. He pulled back so that he could watch where he was entering Sebastian, holding Sebastian's hips, snapping forward faster and faster. Sebastian's cock was red and leaking, and Jace wrapped his hand around his lover, starting to tug. Jace wasn't able to last long, but he kept twisting his hand until Sebastian was coming as well.

* * *

"Yo," Sebastian waved his hand in front of Jace's face, and Jace blinked. "We've been here for, like, five minutes now, and you've just been staring ahead. You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jace shook his head and let out a short laugh. "Yeah, totally ready to kick your ass at paintball." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"We'll see about that."

 _Alright! So, my recommendations this time...Songwise, the ones I've had on repeat are;_ Somebody New _, by Cedric Gervais. Fucking loooove it, my husband hates it, but I play it loud as hell when I'm the only one in the car. Haha._ First Time _by Kygo and Ellie Goulding, this one is cute and sweet, makes me think back to being a teenager. Then there's_ Easy _by Sky Ferreira, which is just beautiful, from the movie_ Baby Driver _, and the last one is_ Too Much To Ask _by Niall Horan, which is just so pretty._

 _Movie wise, I've recently seen_ Kingsmen 2 _, which was fucking great, although my favourite character...*quietly sobs in corner*. Also_ It _, which was great as well, the kids were all so fucking brilliant in that movie, and I have to admit, I ship Reddie. I think they're absolutely adorable. Bill Skarsgard did an amazing job. And then tomorrow, I'll be seeing_ Thor: Ragnorok _! It looks amazing, so fingers crossed._

 _And then in the TV show area, I've just started watching_ The Gifted _, which is pretty good so far. Also binged the second season of_ Shooter _, which I've really enjoyed, and I hope that there's more! Another one is_ Wynonna Earp, _which took me a while to get into, but I love it now. Wynonna and Waverly are just fucking amazing. And then there's just the general shows that I've been keeping up with, like_ How To Get Away With Murder, Gotham _and_ NCIS: Los Angeles _, all of which are great._

 _So! Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, let me know if you guys have any prompts or songs you want me to write about (any of the fandoms I'm in, check my profile, and keep in mind I will try to write them, but can't guarantee all of them) and absolutely recommend any songs, movies, tv shows or fics to me!_

 _There's a preview of the next chapter for a review... xxx_


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm back! We're 2018! It does_ not _feel like it at all. Haha. It still feels like 2017. Anyway, I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Years, fun but safe (even though that make me sounds like a mum). Mine started well and then I had a bit of an accident which is taking a while to recover from, but we'll get there. And I hope that the first month of 2018 has been great! I've got a few concerts coming up which I'm psyched about—Ed Sheeran, Pink and Halsey, so that's awesome._

 _Now, my official updating schedule is kicking off from February, this update is just to get all my stories updated and get my oneshots posted. Check out my profile for the schedule. There are a variety of oneshots posted in quite a few categories, so make sure you check them out, along with my profile for the updating schedule going forward!_

Spending the day alone with Sebastian had been amazing, although there had been this worry in Jace's chest about what was going to happen when they got home. Clary was back, and so it wasn't just going to be the two of them again. He had enjoyed their nights together, watching TV and drinking beer and eating pizza or Chinese. Sebastian would laugh at the stupid jokes on whatever show they were watching, and Jace would make sarcastic comments, and it just felt so comfortable. But now Clary was here, and he knew it was wrong because, really, it was Jace that was intruding, but it felt like Clary was stepping in on their time together.

But Clary still wasn't home by the time they went to sleep, and the only thing that went differently was that they made sure they threw away the pizza boxes before they went to bed, and they washed the plates that they had used. Jace still felt a little bit nervous as he went to his room that night—he was also aching a bit, from the physical exertion of running through the paint balling course he and Sebastian had gone to, and the hits he had taken from Sebastian's paint balls had slammed into his body through the body armor.

He managed to go to sleep, and wasn't woken when, or if, Clary came home.

Just like the day before, Jace felt awkward the next morning, and he spent way too much time laying in bed and staring at the ceiling before finally dragging himself out of bed and getting dressed. He dumped all his clothes into the washing basket that was in the corner of the room, and took in a deep breath before walking out into the hallway. He couldn't help but look toward the end bedroom, which was now wide open and the bed was made. Sebastian never made the bed, whenever Jace walked down the hallway and glanced toward the room during the week, the duvets were always a mess and the pillows askew. He made his bed every morning, force of habit because he liked a tidy living space, and more than once he had been tempted to go in and make the bed, but had managed to stop himself.

"Washing machine is just through there," Sebastian greeted Jace from the couch, where he looked freshly showered. He pointed toward the kitchen and Jace nodded as he walked through the lounge, the washing basket in his hand. There was a small washing room just off the kitchen, with a washer and a dryer. Jace threw his stuff inside and found the washing liquid on the small shelf on the opposite side of the small room, and he tipped a little bit in before starting the washing machine. When he turned around, Sebastian was standing in the kitchen, and he gave Jace a lazy smile. "Have breakfast, and then we're going down to the beach."

"The beach?" Jace raised an eyebrow, wondering just how long he had slept in. He hadn't checked his phone before he had gotten out of bed, although when he looked out the kitchen windows over the sink, it did look like the sun was pretty high in the sky.

"Yeah, everyone else is already down there," Sebastian answered. "I was waiting for you, because you won't know what part of the beach we go to, and I didn't want to give awkward ass instructions over the phone." Jace liked that, Sebastian waiting for him. "Me and Clary had breakfast, and I went for a run after she left, had a shower, and you were _still_ in bed. Must have had a really good sleep."

"Something like that," Jace shrugged, not wanting to answer that he hadn't been sleeping for probably the past three hours. "So, uh, who do you mean by everyone?" Sebastian gave him a quizzical look. "You said everyone is already down at the beach," he clarified as he opened up the cupboard and pulled out a loaf of bread.

"Oh right," Sebastian nodded. "Simon, Alec, Magnus, Izzy, Max and Jon. And, of course, Clary. I think that Maia and Jordan are going to be there, but Jem won't be, he's off visiting Tess."

"Sounds good," Jace replied, because in the most part, it did. Except for the fact that Clary was going to be there, and at this point, Jace knew that it was just stupid, pretending to himself that he didn't have feelings for Sebastian. He blatantly did, and he knew the smart thing to do would be to save up and find his own place as soon as possible, but it had only been a week, and he didn't _want_ to leave Sebastian—he had only just gotten him back, and he wasn't ready to put space between them again.

After finishing off a couple of pieces of toast, both men went to their separate rooms to get changed into a pair of swimming shorts and a shirt. Jace put on a hoodie over the sleeveless shirt that he had thrown on, given he was assuming that they were going to taking their bikes and the wind would be painful on his bare arms. When he came out of his room to brush his teeth, he noted that Sebastian had done the same thing, so he was guessing he was right in assuming they were taking their motorbikes. As he shoved his wallet and phone into his pocket, he realized that it was almost eleven o'clock. Clary's car was gone from the garage, and the boys got on their bikes, putting on their helmets, and Sebastian drove out first, Jace close behind him.

They drove through the residential area and through part of the city, before starting toward the beach. It looked as though they were heading toward the same sort of area where they had had dinner with the boys from work. When they parked up, Jace realized that they were i the same part of the beach, but Sebastian was right, he wouldn't have remembered how to get there on his own. There were a lot of people there, the parking lot was full, but Sebastian and Jace were lucky on their bikes, and they managed to get their cars parked pretty close to the walkway that lead to the beach. Sebastian hadn't bothered to bring any towels or food, so Jace had followed suit and assumed that the others who they were meeting at the beach had the things they needed.

"Come on, let's go!" Sebastian urged, bouncing on the balls of his feet, sandals slapping against the concrete that was spattered in sand. "I want you to meet Clary." Jace really hoped that the grimace wasn't obvious on his face, and he shoved his phone and keys in the back pocket of his shorts and kept his sunglasses firmly on his face, hoping that they would disguise his expression at least a little bit. The beach was flooded with people, kids with their parents, teenagers in groups, couples stretched out on towels next to each other. Sebastian seemed to know exactly where they were heading, though, and he lead his way through the people until Jace noticed Isabelle sitting on a towel, underneath a large beach umbrella, a flopped sunhat on her head.

"Jace! Seb!" Isabelle cried out, waving at them. "You finally made it!" She got up from where she was sitting, swiping the sand off her legs and arms as she gave them both a tight hug. "Clary told me you were sleeping in," she winked at Jace.

"Where's everyone else?" Sebastian asked as he turned to squint out at the ocean.

"Simon has taken Max for a swim, and Jon and Jordan have gone out into the deeper water," Isabelle replied. Jace looked out at the ocean and could see Simon with Max in the shallow water, where it only came up to Simon's shins but clearly the little waves that were trickling in were enough to have Max wobbling and clinging on tightly to his father's hands. "Alec and Magnus went to...I don't know, I think they went off to make out somewhere like teenagers, and Clary and Maia have gone to go and get Lydia, since she finished her shift. They'll be back soon." Jace looked in the same direction that Sebastian was looking in and saw the burger bar where they had gone the other night for dinner.

"So, Jace," Isabelle smiled widely and sat back down on the towel, patting the space next to her under the shade of the umbrella. "How are you enjoying LA so far? Are you liking working with Jon and the boys?" Jace stripped out of his shirt, already feeling himself beginning to overheat, and sat down next to Isabelle. He tried to keep his eyes to himself when Sebastian took off his own shirt and stretched him arms out above his head, but he couldn't help but see the man out of the corner of his eye. "Jace?" Isabelle prompted him, and there was a cheeky curve to her lips, as though she knew what was distracting him.

"Uh, yeah," he nodded quickly, turning his attention back to his cousin. "Yeah, it's good."

"Have you..." Isabelle drifted off, sounding uncertain, and Jace tipped his head to the side as he waited for her to continue. "Have you heard from your mum? Any calls or anything?" Jace pursed his lips together and was about to respond when he heard a shout that was clearly directed at them.

"Seb!" It was a female voice.

The same female voice that Jace had heard last Friday evening, although in a completely different context.

Isabelle lifted her eyes to look over Jace's head toward the direction of the voice, and Jace swallowed hard, and turned around slowly. Maia and Lydia were coming toward them, and there was a red head that he hadn't met yet, but had seen in a dozen photos. She was pretty; not in the over the top, in your face way that Lydia was with her big breasts and long, blonde hair, and not in the exotic beauty sort of way that Maia was, with her caramel skin and mess of curls around her face. But she was tanned, with a smattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks, and she had dark red hair, that looked as though it was trying to escape the braid she had pulled it into. She was wearing a black and grey plaid bikini, which showed off strong thighs, flat stomach and rounded chest, and a big smile on her face.

"Seb!" She repeated as she got closer, unlinking her arm from Maia's and bouncing over to Jace, throwing her arms around his waist and giving him a firm kiss on the mouth. Sebastian's arms went around her waist, and one of his hands slipped down to give her ass a quick squeeze, grinning as she laughed and swatted at his arm. It was so comfortable and easy, and it frankly made Jace want to bury his face in the sand.

"You boys finally decided to join us," Lydia teased as she reached them, wearing a white bikini that was barely covering anything. "How nice of you."

"Didn't you just get off work?" Sebastian rolled his eyes at her. "You only get here as well!"

"Not true!" Lydia protested. "I've technically been here for the past five hours. You missed me giving out free smoothies." Sebastian pouted and Lydia grinned, but she seemed to get distracted as she spotted Jon and Jordan coming out of the water, undoubtedly interested at coming back on land now that their girls were back.

"Oh, Clary!" Sebastian seemed to realize that there were introductions that needed to be made, and Jace forced himself to stand up. He attempted a smile, but from the way Maia lifted her eyebrows behind Clary, he was pretty sure it didn't come across as friendly. Sebastian didn't seem to notice though, looking between his friend and his girlfriend. "Jace, this is Clary, and Clary! You finally get to meet Jace!" The expression on Clary's face shifted. The smile didn't disappear, but it definitely faded, and there was a wariness in her eyes.

"Hey," Clary broke the silence before it go too awkward, thrusting her hand forward.

"Hi," Jace replied, his voice sounding abrupt even to his ears. He took her hand and shook it before letting his hand fall back quickly to his side. Sebastian seemed to realize that something was a little off and looked between the two of them. Clary covered it up well, though, and thankfully, she put a bit of space between her and Sebastian, so they weren't pressed together anymore.

"How are you enjoying the room? The only people who have ever really stayed in that bed are Jon and Lydia when they're too drunk to get home," the smile on her face turned genuine as she looked over at Lydia with a smirk. "Don't worry, we've changed the sheets since they last stayed in there." The implication was clear and Maia, Isabelle and Sebastian laughed while Lydia just shrugged, not looking at all bothered.

"Not my fault your brother's so hot," she winked.

"Ew," Clary crinkled up her nose and shook her head, her braid bouncing from side to side.

"Uh, the room is great," Jace answered, wondering if it would come off as rude if he just sat back down on the towel next to Isabelle, hopefully ending a conversation. But, thankfully, he didn't need to make that decision, because Jon and Jordan joined them, Simon and Max coming up close behind them as well, taking a little bit longer to reach them since Max wanted to stop and pick up handfuls of sand every couple of steps.

"Thank fuck you're finally here!" Jon announced. "I'm so hungry, but the girls wouldn't let us eat until you guys got here."

"Language," Isabelle hummed out at the older man as Simon and Max finally reached them. Max let out a squeal when he saw Isabelle, stumbling away from Simon and toward Isabelle. His hands were covered in wet sand, and when he fell forward onto his mother, he got clumps of sand all over the blue one piece that Isabelle was wearing, and the towels around her.

"So do we want to head up to _Taki's_ or do we want to go to the bakery?" Clary asked as she looked around the group of friends, her eyes skimming quickly over Jace.

"I vote burgers!" Jordan immediately said.

"You always vote burgers," Maia rolled her eyes.

"Because burgers are amazing," Jordan retorted.

"I literally just came from _Taki's_ and I want to go for a swim to get rid of that deep fried greasy smell that seems to follow me everywhere," Lydia put in.

"I'm down for a swim," Clary agreed, turning to Sebastian and touching his arm lightly. "Whatever you guys decide to get, grab me something?" He nodded, and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Lydia and Clary started walking toward the beach, and Jace watched them go. Lydia said something to to Clary and the red head started laughing, and then they picked up their pace and were jogging toward the water.

"What would you prefer, Jace?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm down for whatever," Jace shrugged, looking down at his feet which were sinking further into the sound.

"What a cop out!" Jon protested. "Come on, we need decisions here, people!"

"What do you want, baby?" Maia crooned, dropping to her knees and leaning forward to rub her nose against Max's. The little boy giggled and one of his hands gripped her curly hair, giving it a tug that was probably painful, but Maia didn't seem to mind. Max seemed so comfortable with all of them, and it was clear that he knew these people were family. "Do you want burgers? Or sausage rolls?"

"Burg-aas!" Max gurgled.

"Burgers it is," Jordan grinned.

 _Okay! Let me know what you guys thought! Let me know if you liked it, if you didn't, what your favourite part was, etc etc._

 _Alright, now I've got so many song and movie recommendations given the gap in updating, so I'll limit it down. Movie wise,_ The Last Jedi _and_ The Greatest Showman _are both absolutely incredibly. Especially_ TGS _. Holy shit, the songs and the costumes and the dances, they were all amazing. I don't even know what my favourite songs from it is..._ This Is Me, Rewrite The Stars, Never Enough, From Now On _...I just don't know! And TV series recommendations would be_ The Gifted, Black Lightning _and_ The Runaways.

 _Songwise,_ I'm Gonna Show You Crazy _by Bebe Rexha,_ Him and I _by Halsey and G-Eazy,_ Missing You _by Blake McGrath,_ Never Enough _from The Greatest Showman,_ My My My _by Troye Sivan,_ Dynasty _by MIIA and_ Phases _by French Montana._

 _Let me know what your own recommendations are! I note down all your song, TV series and movies suggestions so I can get around to them when I have time!_

 _Make sure you check out my other updates and let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter xx_


	9. Chapter 9

_A new update for this one! Also, if you enjoy the whole Jace/Clary/Sebastian relationship, I have another multi-chapter story about them that I've got posted called_ We're Like Sparks (We Are Alive) _._ _Check that out :)_

A week went by.

Jace could literally count the amount of times that he had seen Clary on one hand—and that included their first meeting at the beach. He might need to use two hands to count the amount of times he had heard her, given some mornings as he was waking up, before he got out of bed, he heard her talking quietly to Sebastian, and she was singing in the shower one night he got home after work, but it was strange. For someone who owned a house with her boyfriend, she was never around. It wasn't like Jace was complaining about it, because he still wasn't one hundred percent certain how to act around her, but it wasn't what he had expected. And he was beginning to get worried that Clary was avoiding the house because he was there, which made him even more worried about Sebastian getting stuck in between them.

"So, uh," Jace reached forward to pick up a slice of pizza on Thursday night, from the box that was on the coffee table. "Clary's never here in the mornings..." he hadn't broached the subject of Sebastian's girlfriend with him, mainly because every passing day that he spent with Sebastian, he knew that he was just fooling himself if he was still thinking he wasn't falling for him again. But if he wanted to hold onto the actual friendship that he had managed to forge with Sebastian, then he was going to need to face the fact that he _had a girlfriend_. That he was unavaliable. And he was also going to have to make an effort to get along with said girlfriend. "Uh, does she start work really early or something?"

"She goes for runs in the morning," Sebastian shrugged, picking up a piece of pizza for himself, his eyes still glued to the TV. "Although, in all honesty, I'm pretty sure that half of the time she just stops at this cafe down the street that she loves getting coffee from," he grinned before he took a bite out of the pizza.

"It's just...She's also never around at night," Jace shifted in his spot on the couch, staring down at the pizza toppings on the slice in front of him. He wasn't sure what was going on in the show that they were watching because he had been psyching himself up to talking to Sebastian about Clary for the past half hour. "I mean, I'm guessing that she comes home at night, but it mustn't be until late because I'm generally in bed." Sebastian had picked up the remote and paused the show they were watching on Netflix and raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Jace, leaning back on the couch.

"She works a lot," Sebastian answered. "She had that conference in Boston for the past week, her and a couple of her colleagues, which meant that she got behind on some of her case load. She's catching up on all of that." There was something in the way that Sebastian was talking that made Jace feel a little uncomfortable. He paused for a moment, considering dropping the subject, but then he took in a deep breath and just asked exactly what he was thinking.

"Is she staying out of the house because of me?" Sebastian's eyebrows pulled together as he studied Jace.

"You're worried about this," he said quietly. His face was serious and Jace suddenly felt bad for asking the question, because he was upsetting Sebastian, who had done nothing but make him feel welcome and at home. But he needed to get this out in the open, because if he was the reason that Clary was staying out of the house, then sooner or later, it would come to a head, and Jace had only just gotten into this life where he actually had friends and people that he could rely on, and he wasn't ready to loose that. He didn't doubt for a second if there was a side to be taken, it wouldn't be his, because it never was.

"I just don't want Clary to feel as though she can't be around here because of me," Jace answered, and then shoved his pizza into his mouth to give him something else to worry about.

"Clary has no problem with you being here," Sebastian told Jace sincerely. "If you're worried that she's going to find out about what happened in New York, that's not something you need to be concerned about." Jace blinked and froze, stopping chewing the mouthful of pizza that he had bitten into. That was the first time that either of them had even mentioned New York, and the fact that they were more than friends once upon a time. But then he was also not sure how to take that comment—so Clary didn't know about what had happened between them? And Sebastian was planning on continuing to hide that from her? Was he ashamed of what happened between them. "Clary knows," Sebastian informed Jace, which took him by surprise. "Clary knows, and she has no problem with you being here. So don't worry about this, okay?"

"Yeah," Jace swallowed his mouthful and cleared his throat. "Yeah, okay." He nodded and attempted to smile at Sebastian, who didn't look totally convinced that Jace was okay. But Jace purposefully directed his attention toward the TV, pointedly not looking at Sebastian as he took another bite of his pizza. Sebastian shrugged and resumed the show on the TV.

It was the next night that Clary came home at a time when Jace was still out in the lounge. She looked tired, wearing a pencil skirt that showed off a surprisingly curvy ass for a petite woman, and a white blouse that was untucked, the first couple of buttons undone and showing a hint of cleavage.

"Hey," Clary shot him a tight smile before shifting her gaze to Sebastian. "Hey, baby," her voice was noticeably warmer this time, and she leaned down to press a kiss to his mouth.

"How was work?" Sebastian asked as she walked into the kitchen and dumped her bag. Jace could hear the clatter of her shoes as she kicked them off, and then it sounded as though she was opening up cupboard doors.

"It was good," Clary called back. "Long. What about you guys?" She came back into the lounge, carrying a glass filled with water, her eyes skimming over Jace and resting on Sebastian.

"Yeah, it was good, glad it's Friday," Sebastian grinned at her. Jace wasn't going to reply, he assumed that the question had just come out as inclusive so that Clary didn't sound rude, but then both her and Sebastian looked at Jace and he realized that he was expected to answer.

"Uh, yeah," he shifted around where he was sitting. "It was good." Sebastian smiled at him, but Clary seemed to have lost interest and turned her gaze toward the TV. They were watching an old show that they had found while clicking through Netflix, _Line of Duty_ , before she looked back at Sebastian.

"I'm going to go have a shower and then I'm going to bed," she stated. "Living up the high life on a Friday night," she cracked another smile, her eyes sliding to Jace for a split second before looking back at her boyfriend, not paying much attention to the golden haired boy. "Make sure you clean up your mess," she waved her hand at the cardboard containers that had the Chinese in them that they had ordered for dinner. "I don't want it stinking up in here when I come out in the morning."

"Sure thing, babe," Sebastian smiled, straightening up and puckering his lips at her. Clary smiled at him, reaching forward to give him a quick kiss before leaving the room, going down the hallway toward their room. They could faintly hear the shower turn on, over the sound of the TV. After a couple of minutes, Sebastian started to clean up the mess of their dinner on the table, Jace getting up to help. "I think I'm going to turn in early tonight," Sebastian said with a grin, and Jace looked up at the clock on the wall, which said that it was just after ten. It was late for Clary to be finishing work, but it was early for Sebastian to be going to bed. Jace was about to say something, but then he realized by the way that Sebastian was wiggling his eyebrows it definitely didn't mean that he was going to bed _to sleep_. "I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure, uh—" Jace fumbled for what to say next, since he knew that Sebastian was going to go down the hallway and have sex with his beautiful girlfriend. "Have fun?" It sounded awkward and fake coming out of his mouth, but clearly Sebastian didn't hear it because he just grinned, tossing the remote at him before he went down the hallway. Jace sat stock still on the couch, staring at the TV, and he heard the bathroom door open, the sound of the shower getting louder. Jace held the remote in his hand, his thumb twitching toward the volume. The show that they were watching was interesting, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to follow the story line now that Sebastian and Clary were having sex just down the hall.

He bit down on his lower lip and took in a deep breath, turning the volume of the TV up. He tried to focus on the TV, on what was happening in the show, but he couldn't pay attention. He swallowed hard, tightening his grip around the remote as he wondered what he was meant to do. If he went to his bedroom, then they would literally be right across the hallway from him, in the bathroom, if that's where Sebastian had followed her, or even worse, right on the other side of the wall, if they went to their bedroom. If he stayed out here, he was just going to shift around, feeling more and more uncomfortable.

Down the hall, there was a bump and a thud, and then over the sound of the TV there was a sound of a woman laughing.

Jace chewed down on his lip and breathed out shakily. He dropped the remote down on the couch and reached for his phone instead, sending off a quick text. He got a response within just a few minutes, and then he got off the couch, turning off the TV. There was silence from down the hall, except for the sound of the shower running, but when he reached the front door and was trying to get his shoes on, he heard another thud and more laughing, this time from Sebastian.

He didn't even bother to tie up his shoes before he was opening the front door and falling through in his haste to get away from the noise.

Before getting on his bike, Jace had to taken in a couple deep breaths to will away the fact he was half hard, thinking about the couple inside the house.

* * *

Stacey, the waitress from the cafe that he had gotten together with previously, was more than happy to let him crash at her place again. She was all flirty smiles and hushed tones, and she climbed him almost as soon as he walked through the door. She had been out with a couple of friends when he had text her, but she had caught a cab back as soon as she had responded, and was there to greet him with open legs when he arrived. Jace tried to be enthusiastic, but he was glad that she was tired from her week at work and a little bit drunk, so she didn't pick up on the fact that he was distracted.

The next morning, he went back to the house early, leaving Stacey while she was still sleeping. He tried to be quiet as he walked down the hallway to his room, wincing as the floor squeaked underneath his feet. He hadn't quite thought through what he was going to do for the day, but when glanced toward the room at the end of the room, with the door only partially shut so that he caught a glimpse of Clary's bare back, the blankets covering her from the waist up, he knew that he had to get out of the house.

Neither Magnus or Alec looked particularly surprised when he showed up, especially Alec. They didn't ask him any questions or pry into what he was doing there, which he was grateful for. Sometime in the afternoon, Sebastian text and asked him if he was okay, and Jace hesitated before replying, settling for saying that he was spending time with his cousins and giving Sebastian some space to spend with his girlfriend. Sebastian had replied just a couple of minutes later, telling him to have a good evening and he would see him when he came back.

 _Okay._

 _So, I had my movie/TV show/song recommendations all written up, but then Wednesday happened, and I kind of wanted to say something and it didn't seem right to put them in here along with this._

 _So...I'm going to start this with; I don't understand. I can't comprehend. I have absolutely no idea what the people and the families of those involved in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going through. I can't even imagine what...What they're feeling or how they're doing._

 _I just...I don't even know how to put what I personally feel into words, and then I think about how shit and selfish that is, because I'm halfway around the world, and yet there are people who were_ there _, people who were_ in that school _, and they've been incredibly brave by doing interviews or getting out there via social media about what they went through, and what_ needs to happen _. I watched an interview with one boy who put it well, "We are children. You guys are the adults. Work together, get over your politics and get something done."_

Yes _._

 _Where I live, the last time we had a mass shooting—which is defined where four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed—was in 1997. In my life time, there have only been three. From what I understand, there have been_ eight school shootings this year alone _in the US. I just—I can't even understand that._

 _I don't usually put things up about national/international events, but there were kids my baby brothers age...There were_ fourteen year olds who were killed _. How do we live in a world where someone can do that? I was absolutely bawling my eyes out when I was reading the updates and watching the videos that kids had posted and I just...I don't understand._

 _I just wanted to say I'm sorry._

 _To anyone who is directly or indirectly affected._

 _To anyone who lives in the US and this is a constant fear for you._

 _Because that's really all I can say xx_


	10. Chapter 10

_Next chapter, guys! I know that we've got some controversies over Jace, who definitely is a bit...Well, he's a bit confused and definitely on the offense right now. But we'll work him around ;)_

She was avoiding him.

She was _definitely_ avoiding him.

It was now almost the end of Clary's second week back home, and Jace had only seen her twice more since he had come back from Alec and Magnus' on Sunday evening. Sebastian wasn't saying anything, acting as though it was normal for Clary not to be home. Jace could understand that he just didn't want to get stuck between them. He had thought about asking again, but it really wasn't any of his business, and Sebastian had looked so torn the first time Jace had brought it up. If Clary had a problem with him, then that was on her. She could be a big girl and talk to him about it, or she could wait until he found somewhere else to move out. Hopefully that wouldn't be too far away, it was amazing how much money he was able to save without having to pay rent for a dingy apartment in the middle of New York.

Friday morning, Jace was running late for work. He had overslept, which was unusual, but he had been at Isabelle and Simon's last night and hadn't gotten home until after one. It was amazing being so close to his cousins, just being able to go to their house after work, and Max was starting to recognize him, which was awesome. Usually Sebastian would wake him up if he slept through his alarm, but there was a text message on his phone to say that Sebastian had heard him come in late last night and that he thought he could do with a sleep in. Jace cringed and didn't even think twice about throwing open his door and quickly crossing to the bathroom and throwing that door open as well. He had been so used to only accommodating for Sebastian in the morning, and since he wasn't there, Jace didn't even consider that someone might be in the bathroom.

"Shit!" Came a squeal and Jace stopped short as he realized that Clary had been drying herself after a shower. He was frozen in his spot as she quickly wrapped the towel around her body, getting a glimpse of her pert tits and flat stomach. Her cheeks were dewy from the shower and her red hair was sticking to her face.

"Fuck," Jace shook his head and looked away, but for some reason he couldn't move his feet. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's alright," she said, not sounding too upset. "Just, uh, you getting ready for work?"

"Yup," Jace was still looking away from her.

"Did you...Want to move out of the way so that I can leave you here to do your thing?" Clary continued, and Jace couldn't help but look back at her, and she had a small smile on her face, looking as though she was trying to stop herself from laughing. Jace nodded soundlessly, taking a few steps backwards so that he was out of the bathroom, and Clary walked out behind him. She didn't give him another look as she turned and carried on to her bedroom, and Jace tried to ignore the way the towel was hitched up tight around her ass, so that he could see the outline of it through the material.

Jace shook his head, grabbing a towel out of the cupboard and then closing himself in the shower. The tiles and shower walls were still wet from when Clary had been in, and he sighed as he stepped into the stream of water. There was no denying that the redhead was attractive, and if he was pathetically head over heels for her _boyfriend_ then he would be more than happy to admit that he would give her a second glance when she came into the room.

He was an hour late for work, but Jon just shrugged, not looking bothered by him showing up later than he should. Jace had always been on time, pretty much the opposite of Jem who traipsed in late almost everyday, apparently because he had fallen asleep while talking with his girlfriend. But the kid was a good worker, and that seemed to be all Jon expected from all of them. Halfway through the day, Sebastian and Alec left in Alec's car, and then when they came back, Alec was alone in his car, and Sebastian was driving Clary's.

Even though Jon hadn't told him to stay later, Jace did anyway. It didn't really feel like he was doing anything extra because Sebastian was staying in later as well, working on Clary's car afterwards. It was nearly six thirty when Jace was washing his hands and getting ready to leave when Sebastian swore under his breath and checked his phone.

"Shit," he scratched his fingers over his scalp and then looked over at Jace. "Uh," he licked his lips, as though he was nervous about what he was going to ask. "Are you planning on going home?"

"I was—is something wrong?" Jace asked as he dried off his hands.

"I was wondering if you could go and get Clary from her work? I thought I would be finished with her car sooner, but I got started on it later than I had planned," Sebastian winced. Jace looked over at the Porsche that Sebastian had been underneath even after their clocking out time had passed, and realized that he had only actually been working on Clary's car for the past half hour or so.

"Uh," Jace wanted to say no. He didn't want to go and pick Clary up because that would mean on his bike, and then she would have to ride behind him, and given the girl didn't even seem to want to be in the same house as him, she probably wouldn't want to get on his bike. But even so, she was doing him a favor with letting him stay in their house rent free. "Yeah. Sure. Where do I go?"

Jace still didn't properly know his way around Los Angeles and he had to pull over twice to look at the GPS on his phone as he was trying to find Clary's work. It was just after seven when he finally found the building, which looked as though it was all closed up. Sebastian had given Jace her phone number and told him to go around the back of building in a car park and send her a message, and she would come out and meet him. It was early evening, and the sun was beginning to set, but it wasn't completely dark yet. He stared down at his phone for a couple of seconds before deciding to send off a quick message.

 _In the car park._

Sebastian told Jace that he would call Clary and tell her that Jace would be picking her up instead, so she would be expecting him. Sebastian also said that she would be ready pretty much as soon as he got there, since she was just doing some over time work and pretty much everyone else would be gone from the office.

The car park around the back of the building was probably quite a nice place throughout the day—it had a hip height concrete wall around the outskirt of the car park, and then was a groomed hedge that went a metre or so above it. There was an alleyway to one side, that came through one of the gaps in the concrete wall, and then there was the driveway that he had come down, which was quite narrow, between two tall buildings. But it wasn't day time now, it was getting darker, and given how the parking lot was hidden between two buildings and the shadows from the hedges were stretching on, it actually looked like it could be quite dangerous once the sun had fully set.

 _I'll be right out_ , came Clary's response a minutes later and he nodded, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He turned the engine of the bike off, holding onto the spare helmet that Sebastian had handed him before he left. There were a couple of people—they looked like men—in the side alley, kicking at some of the rubbish and swearing as they spoke. They had on hoodies, pulled up over their heads, and Jace rolled his eyes as he looked away. They looked like the kind of kids who were just going to cause trouble.

Jace pushed his feet against the ground, turning his bike around so that he was closer to the driveway, wondering how far away Clary was, and if he should ride his bike around to the front of the building. He decided against it, staying where he was, since he didn't know which door she was coming out of. He was about to text her again when he heard a shout from the alley, and he frowned as he glanced in the direction. He could only see one of the guys now, and he looked like he was shouting at one of his friends. Jace ignored it, but then there was another shout, and then another, this time from a female.

There was something familiar about the voice of the female, and when he heard it again, this time sounding more anxious even though he couldn't fully make out the words, he kicked out the stand of his bike and started running toward the alley.

"Fuck _off_!" Came a growl, and then there was a noise that sounded like skin slapping against skin. Jace rounded the corner just to see one of the three men recoil back, holding his face, and petite Clary, holding onto her bag with one hand, her other one outstretched. He surmised that she must have slapped one of the men.

"You little bitch," another one hissed out and lunged at her. He caught her shoulder, jerking her backwards, and Clary nearly fell over.

"Hey!" Jace shouted as he advanced on them, picking up the pace even more.

"Fuck off," one of the guys grumbled at him while the other who had grabbed Clary's shoulder, was trying to get the bag off her. Clary was still struggling with him, barely paying any attention to Jace, but the two other men turned to face Jace. Jace had been in enough fights in his years of living in the bad part of New York to know that these two probably wouldn't be too much of a challenge. They were younger than him, and not particularly solidly built. They had gone after Clary because they out numbered her, were probably just after her bag, not to actually hurt her, but she had then lashed out at them, refusing to give up her bag.

"Oi, leave her alone," Jace began, preferring not to get into a fist fight. The two facing him just snorted, exchanging looks before one of them stepped forward. He punched, aiming at Jace's chest, which Jace easily dodged, jerking up his elbow and jabbing it in the guys nose. The man let out a grunt and blood gushed from his nose. Jace didn't wait for him to recover before kicking out with his foot, at his knee, making his legs buckle and stumble backwards. The other guy was a big taller and seemed a bit smarter about his movements, keeping at arms length until Jace got distracted by Clary, who was still struggling to get her bag back. He then punched with both hands, and this time Jace got clipped on the side of the face.

It still didn't take long for him to get the upper hand, but not before he got caught in the mouth and on his cheek again. The three men scrammed, leaving Clary huddled against the wall, and Jace glaring after them, breathing heavily and holding one of his hands to his face. Clary seemed to regain her composure first, hurrying over to where Jace was and reaching out and resting both her hands softly on both sides of his face as though she hadn't been actively avoiding him since they had been introduced.

"Shit," she murmured, green eyes worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jace assured her with a roll of his eyes. "I've dealt with a lot worse than those punks." Clary pursed her lips together and nodded.

"There's security cameras in this alley and the car park," she said. "I'll call my boss first thing tomorrow and have them send them onto the cops." She licked her lower lip nervously, and despite how much his cheek was throbbing and his lip was stinging, he couldn't help but follow the motion. "Let's get you home," she said, straightening up and looping one arm through Jace's—for her comfort, or his own, she wasn't sure—and nodded back in the direction that he had come. The pair of them walked back to his bike, Clary still holding on tight to his arm as they walked back. "You alright to drive? I can always do it." Jace didn't doubt for a second that she could handle his bike, given she had probably driven Sebastian's multiple times, but he shook his head.

"It's just a couple of bumps," Jace assured her, feeling a little awkward at her concerned attentions. "I'll be fine." Jace had dropped the helmets on the ground when he had run to the alley, and he picked them up, practically shoving one into her hands and then pulling the other over his head. The pressure of the helmet against his cheek stung a bit, but he ignored it as he got on the bike and waited for Clary to get on. She hitched up her skirt so that it was practically a belt and shoved her bag between them, tucking it between her stomach and his back as she put her hands on his waist. She got a proper grip and Jace turned on the engine, kicking off the ground and speeding out of the car park.

It took less time to get home than it did for Jace to get there, and after shifting impatiently from foot to foot while Clary unlocked the front door, he went quickly to the bathroom.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath as he looked at his reflection. The cut on his cheek wasn't too deep, although it was still bleeding, and a little smudged, so he was probably going to have to clean the inside of his motorbike helmet. The split on his lip was deeper, and he tentatively touched the inside of his gum with his tongue, instantly regretting the pressure.

"Don't do that," Clary piped up from the doorway, and Jace jerked in surprise, not realizing that she had been standing there. "Move," she told him, coming into the bathroom, and opening up the cupboards under the sink, kneeling down and pulling out a couple of things. "Sit," she pointed to the vanity unit.

"I'm fine," Jace began when he realized that she was holding disinfectant in her hand and a couple of wipes.

"Yes, you will be," Clary nodded, but didn't show any sign of backing down. Jace sighed, deciding he might as well go along with the redhead. Clary nodded again, pleased with him following her instructions. She flicked on the light and then came to stand back in front of him. She nudged his knees apart without even seeming to think about it, standing between his thighs and looking intently at the lower half of his face. Jace tried not to focus on the fact that she was practically pressed right up against him, and that her mouth was only a couple of inches away from his.

"Ouch!" His hissed as Clary wiped gently at the cut on his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, hold still," Clary muttered as she cleaned away the blood on his cheek and then dabbed some disinfectant against his cheek.

"Fuck!" Jace hissed again, jerking back from her touch. Clary shook her head, a small smile on her mouth as she waited for him to relax forward, so that his face was close to hers again. She set back to work, finishing off with the cut on his cheek and then moving to his mouth. When he attempted to pull away again, letting out a yelp at the first touch of disinfectant to the open wound, Clary put her free hand around the back of his neck, bracing him.

"Stay," she told him, her fingers splaying out on the back of his neck, smooth but firm. "Not too much longer." Jace blinked, surprised at the way she was touching him, as though they were friends—as though they were familiar with each other. The way that she was tending to his wounds, carefully and efficiently, it sort of felt as though she actually cared. "Jon used to get into fights all the time when we were at school, and I would have to clean him up before our parents saw," she quirked a smile, although it look a bit nervous, as she finished cleaning the cut on his lip. She tossed the blood stained wipes toward the bin in the corner of the room, and then squeezed some more disinfectant cream on her finger. She smoothed it over the cut, and Jace winced, but didn't try to pull away, given the grip on the back of his neck. Her finger swiped gently over his lower lip, smoothing the cream into the cut. It stopped stinging after a moment, and Jace let out a heavy sigh. "Feel better?" Clary asked, her voice a lot quieter than it had been just a minute before.

"Y-yeah," Jace nodded his head, and she let her hands fall back to her side. She stepped back, the warmth from her body where it had been pressed against his legs and close to his chest.

"Go and get some ice," she said. "And...thank you."

"It's no problem," Jace replied. Clary wasn't smiling anymore, her face almost expressionless, like it had been every other time that he had seen her, but there was a softer tone to her eyes. She nodded, taking in a deep breath before turning on her heel and leaving the bathroom, Jace still sitting on the vanity unit, his face faintly throbbing.

 _Sooooooo, in exciting news, I'm off to Ed Sheeran in just a few days! Whoop whoop! Don't even care if it rains like the forecast says it's going to, it's going to be amazing._

 _I've got quite a few song recommendations this time;_ All The Stars _by Kendrick Lamar and SZA,_ Pray For Me _by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd and_ Love Lies _by Khalid and Normani. Older ones that I've been listening to a bit lately that I used to be completely in love with are_ The Devils Tears _by Angus and Julia Stone,_ Dare You To Move _by Switchfoot (those_ Walk To Remember _feels! Haha) and_ Breath _by Breaking Benjamin._

 _In TV show recommendations by big one is_ Everything Sucks! _on Netflix. It's amazing. Me and my hubby binged the whole thing in an afternoon. Haha. I just love all of the characters so much! The parents, the kids—I definitely have a thing for Scott Pocket, I thought he was fucking amazing. Hahahaha. I know there's a lot of controversy around Kate and Emaline because of the actual actresses, but I thought they were gorgeous._

 _Now, here's where I need some help from you guys! So, in two areas..._

 _First is with_ Pressing Play (Rewind and Repeat) _. I'm doing another round of songfics based on letters of the alphabet and I still have some letters left. K, O, P, Q, U, W, X and Z. So please send me some songs starting with those letters and I'll see if I can make a fic work around them!_

 _The second thing is something that I'll be asking for more help with later. There's a story I'm working on at the moment, called_ Changing Faces _, the summary for it is on my profile, and it's spanning ten years. The year that I'm planning at the moment is 2009. So, what I'm asking from all you beautiful people, is send me things you were into in 2009. Music, movies, TV shows, fashion trends. Things you were dealing with in 2009, things that you were going through. Also big things that happened; celebrity news, political news, national and international events. Anything! I will, of course, credit it you._

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think, of the chapter and my notes x_


	11. Chapter 11

_Next chapter! We've got some progress in this one :)_

Jace was the first one up the next morning, and he went straight to the bathroom to look at the damage done to his face. He cringed as he saw a bruise forming on his cheek, and his mouth was a bit puffy, but it was far from the worst he had looked after a fist fight. He had gone and retrieved some frozen peas from the fridge last night and rested them against his face, which had helped a lot with the swelling today. He got changed in his room and then headed out to the lounge.

"Holy shit," Sebastian went wide-eyed as Jace walked into the room. "What the fuck happened to your face?"

"You, uh, haven't talked to Clary since last night?" Jace raised an eyebrow. Sebastian looked even more taken aback and Jace realized how that sounded. "Wait, no," he shook his head and waved his hands out in front of her. "She didn't do this, but...Last night, when I was picking her up, some guys jumped her in the alley."

"Shit," Sebastian's eyebrows furrowed as he came over to where Jace was, standing a little bit closer than normal so that Jace could smell the coffee on his breath as he inspected the injuries on his face. "Fuck, that carpark at her work," he shook his head, an angry expression on his face. "That's why I hate it when she's working overtime by herself—even with the surveillence camera's up there, it's not going to stop something bad from actually _happening_ you know, it just _might_ help after." Sebastian shook his head, lifting up one hand as though he was going to brush his fingers against Jace's skin. At the last minute he seemed to rethink it, and his hand dropped back to his side, taking a step back. "Thank you, for getting her out safe."

"Hey, it's nothing," Jace tried to brush it off, side stepping around Sebastian and walking toward the front door, but the other man reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him from walking too far.

"No, really, Jace," Sebastian told him sincerely. "I didn't get home until late last night, so Clare was asleep when I came in, but I could see her face when I got out of bed this morning, and she looked completely fine, no bruises or anything. _Thank you_." Jace cracked a smile, feeling awkward, and Sebastian seemed to pick up on that, letting it go. Jace walked out onto the deck and lit up a cigarette, sticking it in the corner of his mouth and taking in a deep drag as Sebastian walked back into the kitchen. It was unusual for Sebastian to be up this early in the weekend, Jace had only been staying with him a few weeks and he knew that Sebastian wasn't a morning person and would take in any sleep in he could. And it smelt good as well, as though he had been cooking. When Jace finished his cigarette, he stubbed it out in the ash tray that had appeared a few days after Clary had come home and went back into the house.

"What's all of this?" Jace asked as he leaned against the doorway into the kitchen.

"It's Clary's birthday today," Sebastian said with a smile. "She's turning twenty-four."

"Oh shit," Jace's eyes widened. "Uh, I didn't realize. If you'd told me I would have gone to Magnus and Alec's or something, given you guys some space."

"What?" Sebastian frowned. "No, no, if we wanted you to give us some space we would have told you, don't worry. It's totally cool, we don't usually do too much for birthdays, but her car needed some things to be looked after as well, so I thought I'd put some new speakers in and a new stereo, which is why I needed you to pick her up last night. And I'm making her breakfast, coz I'm a good bastard like that," he grinned and winked at Jace, and Jace smiled back weakly.

"Shit, something smell's good," came a tired voice from behind both of them, and they turned around to see Clary standing in the lounge, rubbing at her eyes with her fists. Jace looked away quickly, pretty sure Sebastian wouldn't appreciate staring at his girlfriend, who was only in a tiny pair of shorts and a shirt that was practically see through.

"Happy birthday, baby," Sebastian told Clary with a smile, walking past Jace and giving her a kiss on the mouth. "Made you breakfast."

"Oh, are you serious?" Clary smiled widely. "Thanks, babe," she reached up on her tip-toes and pressed a quick kiss to Sebastian's mouth. She turned her head to look at Jace and winced when she saw her face. "Shit, Jace," she moved to stand directly in front of him, and he really had no choice but to look at her. The shirt she was wearing was oversized, probably one of Sebastian's, and the collar hung low, and if he glanced down, he didn't doubt for a second that he would be able to see her breasts. "Your face looks even worse than it did last night."

"Well, thanks for that," Jace said wryly, and Clary rolled her eyes, lifting her hand to touch his cheek, her fingers cool against the bruises. He winced and she clicked her tongue sympathetically.

"Did you find some ice to put on them last night?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just used some frozen peas," he replied.

"Okay. If they start hurting again and you want one of those gel ice packs or something, just let me know and I'll run down to the store, alright?" She continued and Jace blinked down at her, the tiny red head with big expressive green eyes, and could only nod. He couldn't quite follow her, she seemed to be ignoring him completely, not wanting to be around him at all, and now she seemed to genuinely care about him. "And I already rang my boss, I rang him before I came out here. He's going to pass the security tapes onto the cops, but in all honesty, they were wearing hoodies, and they were probably just some teenagers who don't have records yet."

"I wouldn't really expect them to catch them," Jace answered with a one shouldered shrug. "I didn't even get a good look at their faces, so I wouldn't be able to positively ID them if the cops asked me too." Clary sighed and twisted her lips, and Sebastian put his arm around her.

"I'm just glad Jace was there," Sebastian said, giving her a quick squeeze. "Seriously, you need to talk to your boss about more security in that car park, especially with the longer hours you've been pulling lately, and sometimes you've been getting back after it's dark." He thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't want you doing anymore overtime if you're the only one, okay? If there's a couple of you, alright, that's cool, but I don't want you walking out there by yourself."

"Seb," Clary began with a sigh, taking in a deep breath through her nose.

"I'm serious, Clary," Sebastian had an expression on his face that clearly said he wasn't going to budge. "I just need to know you're safe. If something like this happens again and you're there by yourself," he set his jaw and Jace could see the pain in his eyes. "I don't know what I would do, and Jon and your parents would fucking murder me." Clary sighed, her shoulders lifting before she turned to face Sebastian and reached up, putting her hands on either side of his face and nodding her head once.

"Okay, hun. No more overtime," she assured him quietly. Sebastian stared at her for a few moments longer, as though to confirm that she was being open and honest. Jace felt as though he was intruding on a private moment, and he looked to the side, giving them at least the illusion of privacy. Clary reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth and then stepped away from her boyfriend. "Alright! No more of this serious talk!" She wiggled her eyebrows in an adorable way. "What did you make me for my birthday?" Sebastian didn't look as though he was entirely happy, but he glanced over at Jace—seeming to realize for the first time since their conversation had started that they had an audience—and forced a smile.

"I made _all of us_ pancakes. Even went down to the farmers market—yes, the organic one that you like so much—and got fresh fruit," Sebastian said.

"Um," Jace's eyebrows pulled together but Clary reached out and snagged his wrist, as casually as if they had been touching each other all their lives.

"He said all of us, dumbass. Come on," she tugged on his arm, and then let go and skipped into the kitchen. Sebastian smiled at Jace, a more sincere one this time, and followed after Clary, leaving Jace to trail after them. It was a subconscious gesture, to rub his thumb against the inside of his wrist where Clary had just touched him, and he stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing.

The breakfast was absolutely incredible, even better than it smelt. The mountain of pancakes were fluffy and buttery, and they had all been kept warm in the oven while Sebastian had waited for them to get up. He had cut up strawberries and pineapple and had grapes and blueberries, and there was freshly squeezed orange juice. Jace still felt uncomfortable as they sat at the table outside, but Sebastian kept conversation up, involving both the other two at the table. Jace loosened up after a few minutes, and it was strange just how much he actually seemed to like Clary.

He had already admitted to himself that she was gorgeous, and she seemed to be a nice person, given how relaxed she was around her friends and her boyfriend. But she was also funny, and she looked over at him to encourage him to join in their conversation.

"Sorry," Jace said at one point. "I didn't actually know that it was your birthday today."

"Eh," Clary scrunched up her nose. "It's fine. Sebastian's the only one who makes a big deal about my birthday anyway."

"That's bullshit, your parents would make a bigger deal if you let them," Sebastian laughed, being weird and peeling a grape before putting it through his lips.

"Oh yeah, speaking about them," Clary popped one of the cut strawberries into her mouth and turned her eyes back to Jace. "They're doing like a barbeque thing next weekend. Just a get together for a bunch of us." Jace was guessing that it was for her birthday. "So make sure you're free, okay?" Now he was going to meet her parents? That felt...As though she considered him as part of their group. "Shit, don't freak out about it or anything—" his face must have paled slightly. "It's not some intense, meet the parents, they're pretty chill. And Alec and Izzy and everyone will be there as well, so there isn't going to be heaps of pressure on you."

"And we're going out tonight as well," Sebastian added. "So you'll come with us, right?"

"Um," Jace squinted, wondering if 'us' just meant Sebastian and Clary, or the rest of the group as well.

"It can be your birthday present to me," Clary said in a decisive tone, picking up her orange juice and sipping from it. Jace swung his eyes back to her, and from the way that she was sitting—legs slung over one arm of the chair, the white shirt she was wearing was pulled a little tighter over her chest, and Jace could now confirm that it was see through. "We're just gonna go out clubbing and shit, have some drinks and go dancing."

"I'm all for drinking, but I'm really not a dancer," Jace laughed awkwardly.

"Hey, I seem to remember some dancing," Sebastian piped up and Jace felt a shiver run through him, surprised that Sebastian was bringing up some of their time together, right in front of his girlfriend. When he glanced across at Clary though, she didn't seem to mind, and she looked right back at Jace.

"There we go, it's sorted," she smirked. "You'll come drinking _and_ dancing with us." Jace nodded and smiled as he picked up his orange juice. They finished the breakfast, and Jace lit up another cigarette, smoking it as he listened to Sebastian and Clary talked. Half an hour or so later, Clary got up and started clearing the table, and that started a mini-argument between the two lovers, Sebastian saying that it was her birthday and Clary arguing that he had made the breakfast, she could do the cleaning up. Jace solved the problem by getting up and beginning to clear the table. All three of them ended up clearing the table and Jace began washing the dishes despite their protests.

"So, it's not much, because I know that we don't really do presents and things," Sebastian's voice was quiet just outside the kitchen door. "But I made so upgrades to your car yesterday."

"Oh, Seb," Clary murmured, her voice even softer than his, Jace could only just make out the words from the next room. "So the oil change didn't need to happen?" Sebastian laughed, and Jace guessed that was what he had used as an excuse to get Clary's car yesterday.

"I did need to do that, but I also put in some new speakers and a new stereo," he told her and Jace couldn't quite hear her reaction. It didn't take him long to finish the dishes, since Sebastian had done a lot of the washing up as he had been cooking, and then he stood in the kitchen for a little bit longer, not sure if he should go out into the lounge. There wasn't any other way out of the kitchen, he was going to have to go out there to leave, but given the quiet that was coming from the adjoining room, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go out there.

He stood awkwardly in the kitchen for another ten minutes, sending off a text to Alec to ask if he and Magnus were home and if he could come over. Alec responded after a couple of minutes, saying they were still in bed, but they would be up soon, and he knows where the spare key is to let himself in. Then he walked out into the lounge and immediately spotted Clary and Sebastian on the couch. Clary was on top of Sebastian, her legs on either side of his, and one of Sebastian's hands was down the back of the shorts that she was wearing as they kissed.

"I'm just heading out," Jace told them quickly, and they pulled apart, Clary looking a little embarrassed with her cheeks pink, while Sebastian just gave Jace a lazy smile.

"We'll be leaving here around nine, so you can come with us or with Iz or Alec or someone," Sebastian told him. Jace nodded, giving them a tight smile before he quickly went to his room to get a jacket and his keys and wallet. When he came back out, they were making out again, and Sebastian just managed a one armed wave as Jace shoved on his shoes, but his attention was clearly focused on his girlfriend. Jace stole one last look over his shoulder at the pair of them—Clary's hands on either side of Sebastian's face and Sebastian's hands on her ass—and swallowed hard, before jogging down the steps and heading toward his bike.

 _Okay._

 _So._

 _I went to a Halsey concert last night._

 _Holy FUCK._

 _She was incredible._

 _She was_ fucking amazing _._

 _I still can't even put it all into words._

 _My favourite artist is Eminem, and I've seen him live, and my second favourite is Halsey, and I've seen her live, and they both just killed it._

 _She put on an incredible performance and her vocals were insane and just..._ Oh my god _! Haha._

 _Khelani opened for her and she was amazing as well._

 _OMG._

 _So I'm just going to leave this here and continue watching videos of her for the rest of the day._

 _Peace out, beautiful people x_


	12. Chapter 12

_An update! About a week earlier than I planned, but I'm going away this weekend and then quite busy next week, so I thought I would update now! Also, part of the reason I'm busy next week is because it's my birthday! So here's an early birthday present from me to you xx_

Jace spent the day with Alec and Magnus', and Magnus' mother and grandmother. The woman were adamant on cooking the boys breakfast, even though Jace had already eaten, and then the boys went out into the backyard. They put Jace to work doing the lawns, while Magnus weeded the gardens and Alec set to work fixing the leg of the outdoor table. It felt good, and Jace worked up a sweat doing the lawns, going inside and showering and changing into a set of Alec's clothes.

Somewhere close to five in the evening, Magnus disappeared for his own shower, leaving Alec and Jace on the back doorstep, Jace smoking and Alec flicking at scrapes of flaking paint from a ceramic pot plant.

"So are you coming out with us tonight?" Alec asked.

"Uh, yeah, for Clary's birthday?" Jace clarified and Alec nodded. "Yeah, she invited me."

"So you guys are talking now?" Alec smirked and waved a hand toward Jace's face. "Did she do that to you?"

"No! Shit, that seems to be where people's minds go first," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Well, Clary can get pretty fiesty when she wants to," Alec shrugged.

"Okay, well, _no_ , I didn't get beaten up by a girl, and yes, she's talking to me now," Jace huffed as he took in a drag from his cigarette. Alec let out another laugh and nodded.

"That's good," Alec nodded. "So are you going to come to the club with us or are you heading back to Seb and Clary's first?"

"I don't think these clothes are going to make the cut," Jace noted wryly as he looked down at the sweatpants and the blue tee-shirt that didn't really fit well, because he and Alec were built differently. "I'll head off after dinner."

* * *

Jace didn't end up heading back to Clary and Sebastian's house until just after eight, which was later than he expected, but it was still time before they were going to head out around ten thirty, or at least that was what Magnus said. They were all going to meet at Clary and Sebastian's to have a few drinks, and then order a couple of cabs to pick them up. From the way that Magnus rattled off the plan, it sounded as though that was their usual plan. When Jace got back to the house, there was a car parked in the driveway, and he had to be careful about navigating his bike around it so as not to scratch it, parking it in the garage next to Clary's car and Sebastian's own bike. There was music playing inside, and it just got louder as he jogged up the steps and opened the backdoor.

"Jace!" Isabelle cried out as he came in, and his eyes raised as he saw his cousin in a pair of what looked like leather pants and a strappy red shirt. "Hey!" She walked over to him, throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. "You need to go and get dressed so that you can get back out here and start drinking!" Jace raised his eyebrows, looking over to where Sebastian was sitting on the arm of the couch, and he grinned back.

"You're not drinking?" Jace asked, his arm still around Isabelle.

"Nah, I'm the designated sober one tonight," Sebastian replied with a grin.

"Magnus said that we were calling cabs?" Jace frowned.

"We will call some, but it's still a good idea if one of us have our head on straight. Especially once Clary and Magnus get together with alcohol involved," Sebastian smirked. Clary let out a laugh as she came into the room, and Jace couldn't help but feel his eyes widen in appreciation. She was wearing a black dress, that tied up loosely like a corset over her breasts, showing enough cleavage to make a mortal man's mouth water. There were thick black straps that went over her shoulders, and then as she turned to pour herself another drink, Jace saw the straps come together midway down her back, tied in a bow that fell against her tanned skin. Her back was almost completely exposed, and Sebastian seemed to like it, from the way that he reached up to splay a hand against her bare skin and press her closer to him, giving her a quick kiss.

"Just so you're aware, it was not Magnus and I that ended up arrested because we tried climbing through a drive-thru window at McDonalds to get more sauce for chicken nuggets," Clary retorted and Isabelle let out a loud laugh.

"I remember that! Holy shit," Isabelle tightened her grip on Jace as she grinned at him. "That was Alec and Seb."

" _Alec_?!" Jace blurted in surprise, trying to ignore the jealous stab in his stomach at just _another_ event that everyone else was present for, but he wasn't, even though he knew that it was stupid. "I mean, I can see you doing that—but Alec is always so..." he searched for the word.

"Boring?" Isabelle supplied with a snort.

" _No_!" Jace rolled his eyes at her. "Just more..."

"Uptight?" Isabelle tilted her head to the side. "Constantly wound tight like he's dialed to eleven? Goes around like he has a giant stick up his ass?" She paused and a salacious smile spread across her face. "Oh, wait..."

"Do _not_ even go there, Iz!" Sebastian groaned, crinkling his nose. "I don't need those kinds of images in my head of my two best friends." Clary grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

" _I_ wouldn't mind those images," she said playfully, and Isabelle laughed, finally releasing Jace from her grip and walking over to her friend. "Let's go make some more drinks, Maia text me and said that she was going to be here soon." The two girls went into the kitchen, Clary picking up the remote for the stereo and turning up the music even louder as they went. Sebastian shook his head as he looked after the two girls, and then turned his gaze back to Jace.

"Everything all good?" He asked, his voice light but his eyes were serious.

"Yeah, just thought that you guys could use some time alone, especially since it's Clary's birthday," Jace replied, hoping that his smile didn't look as awkward as it felt.

"Alright, well, go get dressed, and then we'll get you drinking as well," Sebastian grinned.

* * *

Clary was drunk.

Magnus was drunker.

And funnily enough, it was Simon who was drunkest.

The first time—well, the only time—Jace had gone out drinking with the whole group, they had all been so comfortable with each other. They were clearly a group that knew each other well, but there was just something else that Clary brought to them, and it was like they were fully completed with the red head there.

Maia and Jordan had been the next pair to arrive at their house, and then Simon had showed—apparently he had needed to get Max to sleep before leaving him with the babysitter. Then Jon and Lydia, and finally Magnus and Alec. Before Magnus and Alec even got there, Maia, Isabelle and Clary were all drunk, with Lydia not too far behind them. The girls were mixing all kinds of shots together and passing them out. Jace had ended up with a couple, and they had been horrible, but he had thrown them back to stay in the spirit of things.

Sebastian had looked sorry for him as he hid his laugh behind his hand.

An old Black Eyed Peas song had came on, and Clary had squealed and run over to Alec, rambling about some party that they had gone to when they were teenagers. From what Jace could understand from Clary's rapid, and slightly slurred, speech, Alec had been drunk and had climbed on top of a table and rapped the whole thing.

That was definitely something Jace would pay to see, but unfortunately, Alec wasn't anywhere close to being drunk, so it was something that he would bring up another night.

The club was busy, swarming with people, but it turned out that Lydia sometimes worked there as well, and so did her friend, Camille Belcourt, so they skipped the front line outside and walked straight in, and they got their drinks served to them straight away. And then the girls disappeared into the throngs of people in the mosh pit, down a couple of steps and away from the high tables and bar stools that people were sitting and drinking at. Lydia had reserved them a table for the night on the second floor, and it seemed as though that was their usual table as Jon lead the way up the metal stairs that had fluorescent green and blue lights blinking up from them.

The table was close to the railing, so that they could see the whole club, and Magnus pointed out the girls after they had made themselves comfortable. They looked good, all of them laughing and twirling around each other, Clary's red hair catching the lights that were spinning from the ceiling, and Lydia's laugh reaching their ears.

It was almost an hour later before the girls came up to join them, big smiles on their faces and a sheen of sweat over their skin. They ordered a round of drinks, although Sebastian just said that he would have a beer, nothing too strong, and once they had got them, Clary's brother lifted his voice.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Jon shouted out, standing up. "So, I just wanted to say, a big happy birthday to my little sister!" There was a cheer from Lydia and Isabelle. The waiter came back, handing out the shots to everyone except for Sebastian, who just took his bottle of beer and grinned, shaking his head, as his friends booed him. "Right, so happy birthday, to my little sister. Who used to annoy the shit out of me when I was younger, because she used to follow me around and get me in trouble with mum." Clary poked her tongue out at her brother, but there was nothing but affection on both of their faces. "But, you know," Jon shrugged and smirked at her. "You grew up alright." Laughs broke out across the table, and Clary shook her head with a grin.

"Such a charmer, my big brother," Clary laughed. "Anyway—to me!" Clary lifted up her shot glass to the middle of the table, and everyone leaned in, clinking their glasses together and then throwing back their drinks. The music that was playing seemed to get even louder, and soon it was impossible to hear one another talking. Magnus dragged Alec down to the mosh pit of people grinding together, but it seemed as though they were pretty much just dry humping in the middle of the dance floor, rather than actually _dancing_. Lydia and Jon danced for a little bit, but then they disappeared, Sebastian muttering something to Jace about how Lydia would be taking him up to the employee lounge.

For a while, everyone was all dancing together—including Jace, who had been reluctant at first to be dragged into the crowds, but after Isabelle coaxed a few more shots into him, he was a bit more willing. Maia and Clary had their arms around each other, laughing and screaming out the lyrics to the songs in each others faces, Magnus and Alec had managed to unglue themselves from each other and actually join the semi-circle of people. Somehow Jace ended up next to Sebastian, which really wasn't the best position for him, because every now and then he caught a whiff of the cologne that Sebastian was wearing, and the blonde would jostle his arm and smile at him, and that was sending all sorts of thoughts through Jace's head. At one point, Sebastian threw his arm around Jace, grinning and giving him a squeeze.

But then, as people got even drunker, they began pairing up. Thankfully, there were plenty of gorgeous girls who wanted to dance with Jace, so he wasn't left awkwardly by himself, but he had to admit, his attention kept wandering back over to Sebastian and Clary as he danced with a pretty brunette.

Clary had her back to Sebastian, her legs lined up with his, her ass pressing hard against his groin. Sebastian had one hand on her hip, and the other was pressed to her lower stomach, edging closer to the apex of her legs. Sebastian had his head buried in her shoulder, and even though Jace was _trying_ not to stare at them like a total creep, he could tell that Sebastian was leaving kisses all over Clary's bare shoulder and her neck. From the way that Clary shivered, her eyes closing every few seconds as though she couldn't keep them open anymore, he also guessed that Sebastian was whispering all sorts of things into her ear.

What he wouldn't give to be Clary, getting that attention from Sebastian, hands pressed to his stomach and having dirty words whispered into his ear?

And then, surprisingly, another thought hit him. _What he wouldn't give to be Sebastian, with Clary's soft body against his?_

He didn't even know why he wanted the red head. If anything, he should still be jealous of her—and he was, he knew deep down he was—but something had shifted just a little. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed like a genuinely good person, his cousins and Sebastian and all of their friends seemed to adore her. There was still something that had been going on with her last week, when they had first met, but maybe that was on him as well. Whatever the case, last night they seemed to have turned a corner, he could still remember her gentle fingers against his face.

"Did you maybe want to get out of here?" The brunette asked, reaching up and tugging on his ear with her teeth.

 _Get out of here, and definitely get laid._

 _Stay here, definitely_ not _get laid, and probably listen to Sebastian and Clary having loud, drunken sex to the point of coming in his own hand?_

It was sad that there was really no competition as to which one won out.

"It's my friends birthday," he told the girl in a way that he hoped was apologetic. "So I need to stay here with them," he jerked his head over to his group of friends. The brunette nodded, looking disappointed but understanding. She danced with him for a little bit longer before she gave him a wet kiss on the mouth and disappeared into the crowd, undoubtedly to find someone who was willing to go home with her.

Isabelle came over and danced with him for a bit, and Lydia and Jon rejoined them sometime after midnight, Lydia's make up smearing, and a button missing from Jon's shirt, both of them with sloppy grins on their faces. Sebastian and Clary seemed pretty absorbed with each other, but Magnus danced over to them, sandwiching Clary in the middle and making a big show of grabbing Sebastian's ass. Sebastian laughed, rolling his eyes at Magnus' antics, and Clary laughed as well, her hair fiery between the two men.

It was almost three o'clock before they left the club. Isabelle and Simon had left just after one, saying that their baby-sitter left at half past. Lydia and Jon were the second ones to go, but after ordering another round of drinks—this time paid for by Jace—the rest of them were happy to keep going.

Some trashy pop song came on and both Jace and Clary squealed excitedly when it turned out that Alec knew every single word to it.

And then _Gangnam Style_ started playing, and Magnus and Clary did an incredibly enthusiastic, and albeit somewhat sloppily, dance routine.

Jace had thought that maybe he was making a mistake, saying no to the brunette. He could have gone back to her place and had a good time. But he was glad he had stayed, with his cousins, with Sebastian...With Clary.

At the end of the night, when they were heading out to get a cab, Sebastian was on the curb to wave one down and Clary was teetering on her heels, she wrapped an arm around Jace and patted him awkwardly on the head. Jace raised an eyebrow at her, and she just laughed, leaning a lot of her weight onto him as she watched her boyfriend finally hail down a cab. Clary squeezed in the middle, between the two men. She leaned her head on Sebastian's shoulder, and she slung one of her legs over Jace's knee, not caring that it made her dress hitch up. Sebastian smiled across at Jace as they drove home, and Jace felt his heart skip a beat at the soft way Sebastian looked at him.

Jace heard them having sex again that night.

Clary made these high pitched moaning noises that went on forever, punctuated a couple of times by her sighing out Sebastian's name. Jace could almost pinpoint the exact moment that she orgasmed—and it happened three times—before he heard Sebastian's voice, talking in low tones.

He must have been eating her out, tongue buried inside her cunt, tasting the best part of her.

Jace remembered that same tongue in his mouth, around his cock, in his ass.

He came in a sticky mess over his fingers before the bed in the room down the hall had stopped banging against the wall, and he listened in a tired daze as Sebastian came, groaning out Clary's name.

 _Songwise; I've become completely addicted to Julia Michaels and Camila Cabello. Recent favourites of Julia Michaels are_ Uh-Huh _and_ Worst In Me _, and for Camila Cabello,_ All These Years, Consequences _and_ Somethings Gotta Give _. Especially_ All These Years _! Also there's_ Homeostasis _by Nostalghia, which is an older one. Ooh, and_ White Flag _by Bishop Briggs, which is absolutely amazing, and was sent through by_ Jling _._

 _I'm also still coming down from my Halsey concert high ;) So anything by her is recommended!_

 _So a couple of movies that I've seen over the past month are_ Ready Player One, Love, Simon, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Red Sparrow _and_ Avengers: Infinity War _._ Pacific Rim _was the typical monster versus robot shit, but no one said it was going to be a masterpiece! Haha. It was good for what it was, a depressing lack of Charlie Hunnam though._ Ready Player One _was a lot better than I though it would be, although my hubby and his friends enjoyed it a lot more than I did, given they got a lot more of the references._ Love, Simon _was beautiful and I recommend to all._ Red Sparrow _was okay, a bit long, and because I'm not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lawrence, that was already a bit of a turn off for me._

 _Now._

Avengers: Infinity War.

 _Holy shit._

 _Amazing._

 _Bucky saying 'Steve'? Okoye's side eye! M'Bakku being strong and beautiful! Steve's introduction to Groot? LOKI?! Spidey and Iron Man's last scene? Shuri's little moment? Wanda and Vision! Steve's BEARD?! Daddy AF. Pretty much everything Drax related. Thor's entry into earth?! Bucky and Rocket's interaction?! Probably a hundred thousand more things that I just don't have time to mention! I've already fangirled hard with_ Allieanna _, we're both pretty heartbroken. If you want to fangirl with me, send me a message, I am_ completely _down for that._

 _Let me know what songs you're listening to, if you've seen any of these movies, what you liked about the chapter or what you didn't like and what you think is going to happen next—leave a review, they keep me going :) Let me know if you want a preview as well xx_


	13. Chapter 13

_Happy Pride Month, beautiful people!_

 _Also, if you enjoy my Sebclace stories, I've got another one posted called_ We're Like Sparks (We Are Alive), _so go check that out as well!_

Jace didn't think he had ever hated Sebastian.

Until today.

Today, he hated Sebastian _with a passion_.

But he comforted himself with the fact that Clary seemed to hate him as well.

"More coffee," Clary grunted, shoving her coffee cup across the table to Sebastian. She looked like death, her face pale, her eyes blood shot, her long red hair pulled back in a messy bun on top of her head, strands escaping and hanging scraggly against her cheeks. Her make up hadn't been scrubbed off last night, and so she looked something like a raccoon, dark eye make up all smudged in big circles around her eyes.

Not that Jace was judging.

Because he was guessing he didn't look all that much better.

He hadn't even thought he had drunk that much last night, but now that he was sitting on the couch this morning, nursing a cup of black coffee in his hands and hissing everytime the sun hit his face, he realized that he had had a lot more than he had initially thought. He tried to mentally count how many drinks he had thrown back last night, but then his stomach rolled over, and he wondered if he might throw up for the first time in years because of a hangover, so then he resolved _not_ to think about last night.

"Do you guys want me to go and get you something to eat?" Sebastian asked with a cheery grin, looking golden, and healthy, and _far too fucking happy_.

"Fuck off," Clary grunted. "Get me more coffee." Sebastian just laughed, and both her and Jace groaned at the noise and pulled the fingers at him.

"How about I make you more coffee, you guys go shower and shit—you _know_ you'll feel better. And I'll also go get you some food, okay? I'll get McDonalds," he added that as though it was a winning bargaining chip. Which it definitely was in Jace's book, and apparently was in Clary's as well.

"I want a hundred hash browns," Clary grumped, and Sebastian snorted.

"Go shower," he told her. Clary dragged herself off the couch and stumbled out of the room. Jace just closed his eyes and slumped back against the cushions. He could vaguely hear Sebastian moving around but he was too tired and in far too much pain to open his eyes and follow the man with his gaze. It wasn't until he felt a gentle hand resting on his shoulder that his eyes opened. "Here," Sebastian said quietly, handing him two painkillers and a glass of water. "This'll help." Jace tried to crack a smile, but it felt more like a grimace, and took the painkiller, throwing them back with a mouthful of water. Sebastian was still standing over him, watching him after he had swallowed, and Jace was surprised when the other man reached out and ran his fingers gently through Jace's hair.

It did all kinds of weird things to his heart, and his stomach flipped over a couple of times.

"Right, I'm going to head down to McDonalds, I'll just splurge on their breakfast menu," Sebastian said as he stepped back. "Have a shower after Clary, and I've put on another pot of coffee." Jace nodded, the skin of his forehead still tingling from where Sebastian had just touched him.

Jace stayed out in the lounge, almost falling asleep twice before Clary came out, wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a sports bra, and told him that the shower was all his. Jace's stomach was churning, and despite the coffee and the painkillers, his head still felt like a complete mess. He considered just going back to bed after the shower, but he was pretty keen on the greasy food that Sebastian had gone out to get. He lost track of how long he was in the shower, just leaning against the cool tile wall and letting the water run over his face and down his body.

When he finally dragged himself out of the shower and got dressed, he could hear Sebastian's voice in the lounge. He came into the lounge, not feeling quite as shit as he did before, but he blinked in surprise when he saw what had happened in the lounge. The couches had been pushed backwards so that there was a space big enough for a mattress to be dragged out and put in front of the TV.

"Sometimes this is how we spend our Sundays," Sebastian said with a grin as he saw Jace staring at the blankets and pillows that were dumped on the mattress. Clary came back into the room, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a hash brown in it's paper packing in the other. She glanced at Jace for a moment before stepping onto the mattress and making herself comfortable. "Come on," Sebastian said to Jace as he sat down down on the mattress and held out the paper McDonalds bag to him. Clary shuffled closer to Sebastian, purposefully making some room for Jace as she stared up at the TV.

All three of them, on a mattress.

That was making all kinds of thoughts fly through his head, even though he was pretty sure both he and Clary still felt too sick to do any of them.

"I'm just gonna have a cigarette," he told them, carefully stepping around the mattress and walking out the open door. The breeze felt good, which was probably why they had it open, to let it into the lounge. Jace made sure to take a few steps away from the house so that the cigarette smoke didn't go inside, and tried to calm himself down.

They were hungover, and it was a lazy Sunday.

They were just gonna watch movies.

It didn't mean anything, other than the fact that they were close friends.

Well, maybe he and Sebastian were close friends, but Clary...Maybe she was just welcoming him in.

In all honesty, he probably wasn't even going to be awake for the whole thing, he was probably going to fall asleep in half an hour if he was stretched out on a mattress with a blanket over him.

Great.

 _Falling asleep_ with Sebastian and Clary.

That just brought on a whole new wave of thoughts that he should really be avoiding.

After Jace finished his cigarette he went back inside. He hesitated when it came to sitting on the mattress, but Clary lifted the blanket up next to her, her eyes still on the TV, as though it was just an automatic, normal movement. Like she invited him to climb onto a mattress with them any other day. Jace glanced over at Sebastian, who smiled and jerked his head in an invitation to join them. He handed over the McDonalds bag and Jace was hit with a wave of how hungry he was and he buried his hand into the bag to try and find something to eat. There were a couple of hash browns left in the bag and a bacon and egg bagel.

Sebastian was sitting up on the mattress, watching the movie that was playing on TV, while Clary was laying down, blanket pulled up near her torso, and her body curved slightly so that she could rest her head on Sebastian's lap. From the way that she was bent, it meant her ass and legs were only a few inches away from Jace's legs, he could feel her body heat underneath the blanket. Jace was a bit scared to move, not wanting to move around too much and touch her, so he stayed awkwardly stiff for nearly half an hour.

Clary fell asleep soon, and she changed her position. Sebastian moved around as well, slumping down underneath the blankets and then raising his eyebrows at Jace.

"We're not gonna bite, you know," he noted playfully.

"Oh, so you've changed your preferences then?" Jace shot back with a teasing glint in his eye. Sebastian looked surprised and Jace was worried that maybe he had crossed a line. But then Sebastian huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sebastian snarked back, and Jace bit his tongue, because his answer to that would _definitely_ not be appropriate, especially with Sebastian's girlfriend lying right between them. "Just make yourself comfortable, you look about as shitty as she does." Jace snorted and looked down at Clary. She was fast asleep, her pink lips slightly open, and they looked so incredible soft. Jace knew what Sebastian meant when he said that she looked shitty, given her skin was a whole lot more pale than it usually was, and her eyes had been puffy and blood shot, but she still looked beautiful.

"You're lucky," Jace couldn't stop himself before the words were out of his mouth, and Sebastian—who had turned back to the TV—whipped his head around to look at Jace. "To have her. And her to have you." Sebastian stared at Jace for a beat, and he looked almost sad. But then his lips shifted up in a smile, even though it didn't reach his eyes, and nodded his head.

"I know," Sebastian answered.

Jace managed to watch another ten minutes of the movie, before he fell asleep as well.

* * *

When Jace woke up, the room was a lot darker than it had been when he had fallen asleep, and he frowned, wondering how long he had slept for. It had been close to eleven when they had all gathered in the lounge, but he definitely didn't think that he had slept long enough for it to be dark outside. But as his eyes adjusted, he realized that there was still daylight coming through the window in the opposite room. Either Sebastian or Clary—probably Sebastian—had gotten up and closed the curtains in the lounge, so that they had been swathed in darkness, other than some light coming from the room opposite them, and from the TV.

He also realized that there was a heavy, warm weight on his chest, and over his legs. Jace blinked a few more times and tilted his head down, seeing a mess of red hair on his chest.

Clary.

She was asleep _on_ him.

She was sprawled out over his chest, an arm around his waist, her head on his chest, and it felt like one of her legs was twined around his. Her weight was comforting and she was warm, and Jace felt his heart contract at the way she had wrapped herself around him, as though they had always done this. She was still fast asleep, but as Jace turned his head, he saw that Sebastian was awake. He had pulled one of the arm chairs closer to the mattress, so while he was still sitting next to them, he could lean back against the chair to support his back. So far, he didn't seem aware that Jace was awake, his eyes fixed on the TV, one of his hands resting on Clary's back.

So he knew that his girlfriend was laying pretty much on top of him.

Jace tried to stay quiet, not wanting to disrupt either Clary or Sebastian, but after a few moments, Sebastian seemed to sense the eyes on him, and he looked over at Jace.

The air between them felt charged.

There was something simmering in his dark eyes that sent a spike of arousal right down to Jace's cock, which wasn't helped by the fact that Clary's knee seemed to be resting _right there_ , and putting pressure against him. Jace couldn't look away from Sebastian, swallowing hard as he stared at the other man.

It was Clary that broke the moment, making a snuffling noise as she moved, rolling over so that she was no longer pressed up against Jace, turning so that she was facing Sebastian. She was still pressed up against Jace, her back and legs against the length of his body, and one of her hands reached out as though instinctively for Sebastian. She loosely gripped his shirt, making a contented noise in the back of her throat as Sebastian smoothed his hand over her forehead, and then her breathing evened out again as she fell back asleep.

Jace swallowed again, so hard that it felt as though his breath was going to get stuck in his throat, and he looked away from Sebastian. He wondered if he should get up from the mattress, maybe go into his own bedroom, but he was still tired, and he was so comfortable, and it wasn't as though Sebastian was telling him to leave.

In fact, he was pretty certain that if he looked back over at Sebastian, the expression on his face was saying the _opposite_ of 'go away'.

Clary was still fast asleep, her body warm against his, and he let his body relax again, the tension leaving his body as Clary shifted again, twining her foot between his legs, resting against his ankle. He tugged his pillow closer to him, and he fell asleep again within minutes.

* * *

Clary was awake the next time Jace woke up and sometime after six, they ordered in pizza and sat on the bed, carefully not to drop any of the toppings onto the blankets. Around ten, Sebastian dragged the mattress back down to the bedroom, and Clary gathered up the blankets, almost tripping over the blankets that were trailing under her feet as she walked out of the room. Jace tried to bite back his laugh at her awkward hop-skip to keep her balance, but obviously she heard, because she looked over her shoulder and mock-glared at him, but there was a playful smile on her face as well.

The rest of the week felt better than the week before.

Clary was around more, and he didn't feel awkward or like he was encroaching on their time together. Sometimes she was gone in the morning when Jace got up, so he gathered that Sebastian had been telling the truth when he said that she was out, going for a run. Sebastian had also been steadfast on Clary not working any more overtime if there was no-one else there with her, and so that meant she was home most evenings throughout the week, except for Wednesday, when a group of them were working late.

They cooked dinner together, twice, all three of them bumping around together in the kitchen. The kitchen hadn't seemed small, but it was definitely crowded when there were three adults trying to work around each other. Somehow, though, they made it work; Sebastian putting his hand on Clary's side gently to move her out of his way, Clary bumping her hips against the boys playfully when they were standing somewhere that she needed to be, Sebastian flicking water at Jace when he was washing the dishes.

The way it felt with them...It was easy.

It felt as though they had been doing this for far longer than a week, and Jace felt as though he had known Clary for longer than two weeks. It felt as though the awkwardness between them in the first week had never happened, and even though he felt a clench of jealousy in his stomach when he saw Sebastian and Clary kissing and laying over each other in the evenings when they were watching TV, he didn't feel particular resentment for either one of them.

Jace was still trying to figure out what had happened, how he had managed to make things right with Clary. Not that there were things going _wrong_ beforehand, but they had definitely started off on the wrong foot. Maybe that was his fault, he had kind of been giving off vibes that he was completely uninterested and almost angry at her when they had first met. But he liked it now, he liked how it felt to be around them.

He could be happy with their friendship.

He _would_ be happy with their friendship.

He had to be.

 _So! My song recommendations this time are_ Help Me Close My Eyes _by Those Dancing Days,_ Burn So Bright _by Bella Thorne and_ Broken Prayers _by Riley Clemmons. Ooh—and_ I Wanna Know _by Bea Miller. Shit, I love most things by Bea, she's bloody amazing, and I've had this song on repeat, for like the past two months. Haha. Oh, and_ Go Dark _by Cassie Steele! It took me a while to get into this one, but I adore it now. Ooh ooh! And_ Lie _by Halsey featuring Quavo. Fucking looove it. Although let's face it, I love everything by her. Omg! And also_ What I Need _by Hayley Kiyoko featuring Kehlani. I've only recently gotten into Kehlani, since I saw her open for Halsey, but I adore Hayley, and I'm so glad she's becoming more popular. This video has just come out and its amaaazing._

 _In other news...The second season of_ Queer Eye _is almost out! Whoop whoop! I bloody love them all, and I cried in every single episode of the first season. Antoni is just bloody beautiful, and Tan and Karamo...Omfg. Gorgeous. And then Bobby is so talented and Jonathan is amazing. Haha. I recommend to all! Also, has everyone seen the new_ Robin Hood _trailer? I love Taron Egerton, can't wait for the movie!_

 _I've starting dabbling in oneshots again. I generally post them all at one time, when I've got chance to come back and edit them all properly, but I'm taking requests if you want to see them through. Doesn't have to specifically be this fandom, go onto my profile and check out other fandoms I'm in or send me a message. Send through songs or ideas and I can try to make them work!_

 _Lastly, I keep meaning to pimp out the amaaazing reppinda5o3, who I absolutely adore. First of all she's got this amazing trilogy that is currently on it's second installment, first one called_ Send My Love (To Your New Lover) _and the second is called_ Hello _. Then there's her latest story and I've fallen in love and we're just one chapter deep,_ Set Fire To The Rain _. And then her baby,_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, which is an angsty ride, but I trust her to get us there in the end! Go and check them out and show her some love. She's ridiculously busy, but she still finds time to write, and her detail and care in her writing is insane, and also listen to me with my one million ideas and was also one of the people to keep me sane when I was house bound for a few months. Including keeping my company literally as I'm typing this because I'm home sick. So go. Go, go, go, go, go!_

 _Send me your recommendations, send me your thoughts on the story, send me anything and I will reply when I can! Let me know if you want a preview xxx_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey guys._

 _Okay. So..._

 _This is a bit weird, but I thought I should probably post something._

 _I've had a few messages from people, and I've replied to a couple of them, but I guess it would be more fair to post this for everyone to see._

 _I'm just taking a bit of a break from here. I've got a lot going on at the moment; my heads a bit of a mess, my relationship needs work, my job is going through a a lot of changes which is stressful and honestly I'm just not doing too great. Usually writing is my outlet but I've been really stumped lately. I've managed to write a few oneshots but I'm just not happy with them and I just_ can't _write. I open up word documents like every night and just can't get anything out, and when I finally do, I'm not happy with what I do. Over the past six weeks or so I've gotten some shitty reviews which are always from anon's because why would they log in to leave feedback and have a conversation about it? I delete them because I'm one of those people who just re-read and re-read them and obsess over them and it just isn't a great time! So maybe that's got something to do with how..._ Not _like writing I feel._

 _I'm posting this on all of my stories, even the ones I don't update regularly, because I'm not sure how long it'll be before I update. I'm going to try get around to all the reviews I haven't replied to and the messages that are piled up in my inbox, and I_ _hope I'll snap out of my funk soon and then it'll be back to normal :)_

 _I love you guys, 99% of you are absolutely amazing and you're so supportive and patient with me, and I want to say thank you for that x_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey, beautiful people!_

 _I'm back! You guys have all been beautiful and I appreciate all of your kind words. I'm feeling a lot better, although, as anyone suffering from anxiety, depression and any other lovely mental health issues, I'm taking one day at a time. Still feeling a little...Iffy, but hey. That's life._

 _We're coming up to the end of the year and I always take a couple of months off over Christmas/New Years. So what I'm going to do is update all my stories at the beginning of each month until I go on a break over December/January and then I'll go back to a regular schedule with two monthly updates._

 _Also, a few of you guys tried to help out and suggested maybe if I didn't write so many stories, I wouldn't get overwhelmed. I absolutely love that you guys are trying to help, but the amount of stories isn't the problem. My problems are outside of this little fandom world I try to bury myself in, and the thing that was making it difficult for me to enjoy posting and updating and interacting with you guys was because of a few nasty reviews that just really hit when I was feeling pretty damn shit. So, thank you! But it's okay, I manage sharing out my time on each story well, since I get inspired for different stories all the time and bounce all over the place!_

 _Anyway, on with the story..._

"Come on, come on, we're running late!" Clary sung out as she got out of her car and waited for Sebastian and Jace to get out as well. Jace was in the backseat, and he was trying to cover up how nervous he felt about meeting her _parents_ as Sebastian slammed the passenger door shut. It wasn't as if the pressure was all going to be on him, but from everything that he had heard in the garage throughout the week, everyone got on really well with Clary's parents. He wanted to make a good impression, just like he had wanted to with all of their group of friends; wanting to _belong_ with them.

"We're only late coz of you!" Sebastian called after Clary, who just pulled the fingers over her shoulder as she skipped off ahead of them. Sebastian rolled his eyes as he waited for Jace to catch up to him. There were already a couple of cars parked on the street, he recognized Jon's, Simon's and Magnus' as several of them, and was guessing that the others probably belonged to some of their other friends as well. The house was nice, a two storied place with a tidy garden out the front, and a brick path leading up to white stairs, that opened onto a wide deck. Clary was already going up the steps and following the deck around the side of the house, where music could be faintly heard.

"Oh, shit, what are her parents names?" Jace asked quickly as they began up the stairs. "I meant to ask earlier."

"Dude, don't look so panicked," Sebastian laughed and shook his head as they reached the deck and began to follow in the same direction that Clary had gone. "They're awesome, totally go with the flow and everything. So there's her mum, Jocelyn. And then there's her dad's, there's Luke and Valentine—"

"Wait!" Jace gripped Sebastian's arm in confusion just as they rounded the corner to see the back yard filled with people. "' _Dad's_ '?" Sebastian's eyebrows pulled together as though _he_ was the one that was confused, and opened his mouth to say something when they were interrupted.

"Seb! About time you showed up! I need your help with the barbeque!" Came a shout from a handsome, dark-skinned man who was standing next to probably the biggest barbeque that Jace had ever seen.

"I offered to help!" Jon protested from where he was sitting at the picnic table, sunglasses propped on top of his head and a beer in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, you offered half an hour ago and you're _still_ sitting on your ass," the man shot back with a smirk, shaking his head as he looked back over at Sebastian and then at Jace, as though noticing him for the first time. "Oh, you must be Jace," he grinned and put down the metal barbeque utensil he was using, taking the few steps over and holding out his hand. "I'm Luke."

"Hi," Jace managed to say, blinking slowly, still processing what Sebastian had said to him. So it _hadn't_ been a weird phrase when Jace had said 'one of Clary's dad's' when he was first telling him about them.

"And I know that you've met the rest of this lot," Luke grinned as he shook Jace's hand and then waved over his shoulder to where Jon, Lydia, Isabelle, Simon and Max were. He knew Alec and Magnus were there somewhere as well, but maybe they were inside the house. "This is Valentine, Clary's dad, and Jocie is somewhere inside, that's Clary's mum." Valentine Morgenstern smiled at Jace, reaching out his hand.

"You're living with our girl and Seb, aren't you?" Valentine smiled as he shook Jace's hand, before reaching out and resting his hand on Luke's shoulder in a familiar, comforting way.

"Y-yeah," Jace nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Magnus come out of the house with a glass tray filled with meat, and he was relieved when the handsome man came over and distracted Valentine and Luke. Jace backed away from them, putting some distance between himself and the people around him, processing the information that he had just been given. He, of course, knew that there were relationships that were polyamorous, although he had never actually seen one functioning. The only sort of threeway relationships he had been around were the sexual kind. He was guessing that both Jon and Clary were biologically Jocelyn and Valentine's, given they both had pale skin, but as Clary skipped over and threw her arms around Luke, giving him a loud kiss on the cheek, the love between them was clear.

"Happy birthday, Clare Bear," Luke murmured as he put an arm around her shoulders. Jace looked away, because the way that Clary smiled and ducked her head against his chest, cosying up to his side, the whole thing felt like he was intruding on a moment. Magnus gave him a smile before handing over the glass tray filled with meat to Sebastian, who had taken up a position at the barbeque.

As the afternoon went on, Jace was properly introduced to Jocelyn, who was a beautiful, older looking model of Clary, with the flowing red hair and the exquisite green eyes. She had the same sort of flow about her as well, moving from person to person with an easy, friendly confidence. Even though this barbeque was technically for Clary's birthday, other than a cake being brought out and placed in front of the girl, it was more just a family get together.

And _he_ was a part of it.

Even though he was there, even though they were sitting around him—Alec was laughing and shaking his head as Simon ran his mouth about some video game he was playing, and Jocelyn and Clary were cooing over Max—and even though there was a cold beer against the palm of his hand, he felt separated. Like there was a space between where they were and where he was.

Because they were all so happy, and they all clearly loved each other, and they knew each other, and it was like when he was around their group of friends and they all had such history with each other, and he was the odd one out.

"Hey," Clary's voice was gentle as she rounded the table to where he had been sitting. "You want some cake?" She had a plate in her hand, with a thick slice of chocolate cake with cream and berry filling spilling out of it.

"Thanks," Jace flashed her a quick smile as he took it from her. Their fingers brushed as she passed the plate, and Jace couldn't help but steal another look up at her from underneath her eyelashes. Things had been good with them the past week, but he couldn't forget how it had felt when he was lying on the mattress with the two of them when they were recovering from their hangovers. How warm and comforting and soft Clary's body had been, twined around his, and how deep and confusing and charged the moment had been when his eyes had met Sebastian's gaze over the red heads body.

"You alright?" Her voice was a bit quieter now, and Jace appreciated it. Everyone else was distracted by various things, and he didn't want any attention to be drawn to him.

"I'm fine," Jace told her, forcing another smile. Clary pursed her lips and it looked as though she wanted to press further, but she restrained herself. She nodded and walked back over to where her brother was standing with Alec and Magnus. Jace's eyes flickered over to where Jocelyn, Luke and Valentine were standing. They weren't crowded together, but they were clearly _together_. There was just something in the air that surrounded him, like when Jocelyn moved, Luke and Valentine swayed slightly toward her, or when Valentine laughed, Jocelyn and Luke's smiles grew.

It was nice.

But it made him wonder things about Clary and Sebastian, things that he had been trying to push to the back of his mind, ever since he had moved down here. And especially since he had moved in with the couple.

It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon, and everyone was spread out through the backyard, in different groups, some still drinking while others were laying on their backs on the ground, staring up at the blue sky. Max was tired and was contentedly sitting on Simon's lap, trying to stubbornly stay awake even though his eyes kept closing. Jace took in a deep breath, getting up from his seat and walking up to the deck that wound around the house. He made his way to the front, where he could be alone, resting his forearms against the railing of the deck and taking in a couple of deep breaths.

"Mind if I join you?" Sebastian's voice was tentative as he approached Jace. Jace nodded, but he couldn't quite bring himself to smile. Sebastian came over to stand next to him, putting a little bit of space between them as he rested his forearms against the railing in a similar fashion, slumping forward. "They're great, right?" He jerked his head toward the back of the house, and Jace was guessing he meant Clary's parents.

"Yeah," Jace answered honestly, scratching the back of his neck. "What they have...I mean, it works for them?"

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "That's what I meant, when I said that Jon and Clary's parents had a complex relationship. Luke lived here, and he was a property manager, had heaps of houses, while Valentine and Jocelyn were in New York with the kids. They had been seeing each other since Clary was about five and Jon was eight, but it had been a long distance thing. They all ended up moving out here, once they realized how serious they were."

"So Clary..." Jace bit down hard at the inside of his cheek, before deciding just to ask. "How long have you and Clary been dating?" Sebastian paused, and that gave Jace an idea of the answer. "How long?" He pressed.

"We've been living together two years," Sebastian said quietly, looking ahead. "We started seeing each other when Clary was seventeen and I was eighteen, but we were on and off for a while." Jace felt his stomach clench. So Clary had at _least_ been in the picture when Sebastian had been in New York... "We were pretty serious since about three and a half years ago." Clary had _definitely_ been in the picture when Sebastian had been in New York, then, since the second and third time they had met had been within the past three and a half years.

Jace tried to swallow down the horrible taste that was rising in his throat.

It wasn't as though he had any kind of claim over Sebastian.

Shit, if anything, he should be feeling sorry for _Clary_ , because Sebastian had been cheating on _her_ for _him_.

But then, Sebastian and Clary seemed steady. They seemed as though they knew things about each other, and were comfortable. And Sebastian had said that Clary knew about what had happened between them.

"She moved away for a bit, right out of high school," Sebastian was talking again, and Jace tuned back in, trying to ignore all the thoughts that were running through his head. The weird feeling of _betrayal_ , even though he had absolutely no right to feel that way. It had just been a one night stand, or, a fling, was probably the better way to explain it. A fling that had happened a couple of times, over several years. That he had clearly read too much into. "She moved to Boston for a year, to start her studies, before transferring back. It was during that time that I first went to New York, and...Met you for the first time." Sebastian sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and Jace really wished that it didn't make his mouth look even more red and kissable, because he was _angry_ right now, he wasn't meant to be having thoughts about pressing his lips against Sebastian's. "When she came back, it got more serious between us. I was honest, I told her about you...You were the only guy that I ever did anything with...Ever felt anything for..."

"Mm," Jace hummed out non-committedly, even though that made him a little bit proud. _Glad_ that at least he was the only one in that regard. It was stupid, but the feeling was definitely there, sitting in his stomach.

"There had been a couple of girls, but none that had meant anything. It was simple," Sebastian shrugged and glanced quickly at Jace, obviously a bit nervous about what he was going to say next. "I loved Clary, and I wanted to be with her."

"Then why did you come back to New York?" Jace asked, hoping that the hurt in his voice wasn't too evident. Sebastian's arm twitched, as though he was thinking about reaching out and touching Jace. He stopped himself, though, and Jace was glad, because he didn't know how he would react if he had reached out. His heart was tight in his chest. This was probably the opposite of the best time to talk about this kind of thing, at Sebastian's _girlfriends parents house_. And yet, somehow, this was where they were having this discussion. "Why did you come to New York and come to be...With me?" His voice lowered, coming out almost as a rasp. Sebastian took in a deep breath through his nose, and out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw him wring his hands together, nervously.

"I liked you, Jace," Sebastian answered, so quietly that Jace had to strain to hear him. "I liked you a lot. And Clary...Clary knew how I felt about her, but she also knew how I felt about you. She said that as long as I was honest and open about it with her, then she didn't mind. I guess that came from growing up with parents in a relationship like hers." Jace swallowed hard. "There had never been anyone else for her, and you were the only one that I was ever with while I was officially back with her." Jace couldn't understand how Clary had been okay with Sebastian practically cheating on her. It was as though they had an open relationship, but then he had never caught a glimpse of that while he had been staying with them.

But that wasn't the thing that bothered him the most.

"So you were honest with her...But not with me," Jace concluded, straightening up, taking a step toward the stairs that lead down the deck and to the pathway. "You were honest with Clary, because you loved her, and I was just a piece of ass."

"No, Jace..." Sebastian straightened up as well, and his face was pained. "That wasn't it—look, you just never seemed all that interested." Jace's eyes flew open at that, and he couldn't help but let out a sarcastic snort. Sebastian's face changed then, from hurt to almost angry. "Look, I gave you my number. You never text me. I didn't think..." he trailed off and shrugged, licking his lower lip nervously. "I didn't think you were interested. I thought that it was just a fun... _Thing_ for you, just for when I was in town."

"You have no idea how much I liked you!" Jace blurted out, without even thinking. "I didn't text you because there was no point! You lived hours away and it would just make it harder to get over you, if—if we were in contact! I couldn't do that to myself!" Sebastian's eyebrows pulled together, and there was a regretful expression on his face. "The way I opened up to you...The way I trusted you, it was different from anyone else. I fucking _lived_ for the next time you would show up in my life, but I just never knew when it would be, or even _if_ it would be. That number exchange, it didn't just go one way. I gave you my number as well, and you never text either. It goes _both ways._ "

"Jace..." he began, stepping forward, but Jace pulled away again.

"No, Sebastian," he shook his head, so many times that the inside of his skull thumped. "I...I need to go. Just let me have some space." Sebastian looked as though he wanted to argue, but he stopped himself, watching as Jace stormed down the front path, turning and disappearing as he stalked down the road.

 _Okay! I have so many recommendations, so I apologize in advance for how long this is going to be._

 _Songs!_ Back To You _by Selena Gomez. Holy shit. Words can't even express how much I love this song. Like...My heart, every time...Shit. Yes. And all the fandom videos to this song on Youtube, I'm just loving all of them, they're just incredible. Then there's_ Somethin' We Shouldn't Do _by Chad Brownlee,_ Bad Company _by Five Finger Death Punch,_ Higher _by The Score,_ Panic Attacks _by Elohim and then_ I Said Hi, Mess Her Up _and_ Middle of the Night _by Amy Shark. I've become completely obsessed with Amy Shark. Haha. Then there's also_ Sober _by Demi Lovato...Which does all sorts of different things to my heart now, than Back To You. After her recent relapse, I get a little teary when listening to it..._

 _So movie/TV series wise..._ Alex Strangelove _\- It's quirky and awkward and fucking hilarious and it made me so happy. All of the characters are just so beautiful and well-written and realistic. It's a bit weird, I absolutely cringed a few times and definitely has some areas it could improve on, but if I'm being totally honest...I think it may actually be in like my top twenty movies. It just made me feel so good. My hubby loved it as well. And then there's_ Jane The Virgin _, which we're slowly getting through. My husband is firmly Team Raphael while I'm firmly Team Michael...Now that he's back, I have high hopes. LOL. Also I've recently gotten into_ Reign _, and I'm in love._

 _Also, is anyone else watching_ Who Is America _? Holy shit. It makes me cringe to the point where I hide my face in a pillow, but it's hilarious and chilling and I recommend to all._

 _Anyway, let me know if you guys have any recommendations. Leave a review, let me know what you think, because your reviews mean so much to me xx_


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey, guys! Here's the update for this month! And just a reminder that I have another Sebclace story going at the moment,_ We're Like Sparks (We Are Alive) _, so check that out as well._ _Also_ — _I've got Pink's concert next weekend! She's going to be fucking amazing!_

Jace got lost not long after he left the birthday lunch, but he refused to give Sebastian a call, and ask for him to come and find him. So instead he walked, he kept on walking, getting more and more lost. He found himself in a park, and as the sun started going down, he sent off a text to Alec with the street name that he could see behind the playground where a couple of children were playing, asking for his cousin to come and pick him up.

It wasn't even as though the past two hours of walking around aimlessly and just getting lost in his head, he really hadn't thought about all that much.

He had overreacted.

He knew that.

Because Sebastian was right; he _had_ left his phone number with Jace, and it had been Jace's choice not to reach out to him. He had his reasons, and in all honesty, he didn't regret those reasons at all. Because being separate from Sebastian but still connected by text message and perhaps the occasional phone call would have just dragged out the pain even more. He would have probably found out about Clary as well, Jace didn't doubt that Sebastian would have told him if they were actually in contact, and a part of him had already guessed that someone as great as Sebastian wouldn't be single. That was just _another_ reason why he hadn't text or called.

Alec text him back, not asking about why Jace had disappeared so suddenly or if he was okay, simply saying that he would be there soon with Magnus, which Jace really appreciated. Jace stayed on the park bench, watching as a little boy with a bright yellow toy truck ran around the outskirts of the park, evading his harried mothers arms. Even though it was clear that she was frustrated, she let out a huff of laughter when he spun around suddenly, letting out a happy squeal as he threw his arms up for her to pick him up. The littles boys face was a complete picture of innocence, and his mother pressed a few kisses to the pale skin of his forehead before carrying him back over to where she had put her bag down.

He wondered if he and his mother had ever done anything like this.

He was pretty sure the answer was _no_.

Magnus' mother and grandmother didn't say anything when the three men walked into the house, so maybe Magnus had text them or called them, to let them know that Jace was going to be coming home with them. Devi and Diana smiled widely at him, and then asked the men if they were hungry, because they had—of course—cooked enough to feed all of them twice over.

Jace stayed Saturday night, and then he stayed Sunday night as well. Sebastian had text him a couple of times, but then he had stopped after he didn't get a reply. Jace didn't hear from Clary, but he tried not to feel too hurt. Despite the leaps and bounds that their friendship had taken over the past couple of weeks, it wasn't as though there were any real roots to their relationship. Jace probably spent more time in the shower, staring at the water droplets chase each other down the glass door in front of him, not really thinking about anything, just feeling sorry for himself, than actually washing himself.

Because Sebastian was right.

And he was stupid.

He really had no right to expect anything of Sebastian, not when he was living in New York and Sebastian was here in Los Angeles.

And Sebastian had been correct, he had given his number to Jace, but Jace had never used it, not wanting to stretch out and hope that maybe he could have something more and then have his dreams stamped on.

If he had tried to pursue something with Sebastian, who knows what might have happened?

At the very least, he would have found out about Clary. Or at least, he was assuming he would, he couldn't imagine that would be something that Sebastian would try to hide. Sure, he hadn't told him about Clary when they were in the city, but Sebastian had blatantly said that he didn't think Jace wanted anything more. Didn't want to know anything further about his life.

At the end of the day, if he had wanted to pursue Sebastian, he had that opportunity, and he chose not to.

He should never had gotten involved with Sebastian in the first place.

Or he should have stopped himself from getting back together with him the second and third time when he realized the feelings that he had for the blonde.

Sebastian didn't have to tell him about Clary, it wasn't as if they were together. And _of course_ he had told Clary, because they had history. Sebastian _loved_ her. They were _honest_ with each other. And Clary loved him, and apparently had never viewed Jace as a threat, given she didn't seem to have had any problem with her boyfriend swanning off to New York and spending extended weekends with Jace. Or maybe she did see him as a bit of a threat, and that was why she thought it was better for Sebastian to get this desire he had toward Jace out of his system before things got serious between them and they moved in together.

His thoughts were a mess and his mind was flitting from one thought to another, and on Sunday, he pretty much just camped out on Alec and Magnus' couch and watched one soap opera after another with Diana, the elderly Indonesian woman catching him up on all the gossip of the shows. She seemed very in the know about the backgrounds of every single one of the characters.

It was a good distraction.

But then it was Monday morning, and Jace had to go into work with Alec, and he really didn't have any excuse not to go in, other than he felt embarrassed to face Jonathon, when he had all but run away from his parents place, and Sebastian, who he had kind of just acted immaturely around.

He had been upset, that was his excuse, but he had still been irrational, and a lot of it was just his fault, because he had never been open with Sebastian, with _how much_ he had liked him. And if he had just reached out and _told_ Sebastian how he felt...Well, he didn't know _what_ would be different, but maybe something _could_ have been.

"Hey, Jace!" Jem called out, a wide grin on the young mans face as he walked through the door. "Hey, Alec!" Alec grinned at Jace, before casting a quick look over at Jace, who had walked in beside him, his chin jutted forward determinedly. It didn't seem as though Jem knew anything about what had happened that weekend, and when Jon came into view, ducking out from his office with a clipboard in his hand, he gave both of them quick greeting smiles and a nod. Jace was surprised, expecting Jon to rebuff him, or maybe ignore him. Jace swallowed hard as his eyes flitted around the garage, seeking out Sebastian even though he was trying to stop himself.

"Okay, Alec, do you mind taking out the truck? I just got a call from this woman—sounds like there was a bunch of kids in the background," Jon made a face before reaching inside his office door and grabbing some keys off the hook inside. "See if her insurance covers hiring a car, and if it doesn't, give her the courtesy car, we don't have it booked for anyone."

"What's the address?" Alec asked as he walked across the garage to get the keys off Jon. Jace stopped listening as he realized that his buffer, fashioned as his cousin, was about to disappear and leave him in the garage alone. He shrugged out of the hoodie that he had borrowed from Alec putting it in the cubby-holes beside the door and pulling on a pair of overalls, rolling the arms up and leaving it unzipped halfway down his chest. "I'll be back later," Alec called out, meaning it as a general goodbye, although lifting an eyebrow at Jace as though to check he was okay.

"Jace," it was Sebastian's voice behind him, low and gentle, as though not wanting to frighten Jace away. Jace swallowed again, feeling his chest constrict as he half turned in Sebastian's direction. Sebastian looked nervous, uncertain, shifting from foot to foot, but he gave Jace a weak smile.

"Hey," Jace's voice didn't sound anywhere near as strong as he hoped it would have been.

"Uh," Sebastian glanced over at Jem, who wasn't paying any attention to them at all, already dressed in his overalls and standing in front of the stereo, flipping through the iPod that was plugged in to the aux cord, getting a new playlist ready for the day. "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry that it came out...Like that," he gave a one shouldered shrug and licked his tongue over his lower lip. "I really didn't mean to make you feel as though you weren't welcome, or that I didn't care about you. Because you are, and _I do_." Jace licked his lips and rubbed them together as he searched for something to say. But it was then that Jem seemed to decided to start singing across the garage, shaking his slim hips and belting out some old Miley Cyrus song.

"If you don't change that shit, I'm going to throw your iPod underneath the wheels of the next car that comes in here!" Jon grumped from where he was back in his office, but the threat fell on deaf ears, given he threatened to destroy Jem's iPod at least twice a day.

"Uh," Sebastian took in a deep breath and then looked around the garage. "Right, you want to help Jem out? This car's gonna need to go off to the panel beaters from the shape that it's in, to see if it's even worth fixing, so I'll give them a call," he nodded over to a car that must have been dropped off during the weekend, and looked as though it had slammed straight into a lamp post, or a tree.

"Alright," Jace nodded, and headed over to where Jem was now working on the engine of a beat up looking Ford. He could feel Sebastian's eyes on his back, but he forced himself to ignore them and focus on the Ford. After a few minutes, he heard clanking around behind him and knew that Sebastian was working on the other car.

Alec got back to the garage with the pick up truck and a car on the back around half an hour later, and there was a harried looking woman in the cab next to him. It turned out that she had two kids, one who was late for school and another who needed to be dropped off at daycare, so Alec had made a couple of stops on the way back, which is why it had taken a while. The woman only had the most basic of insurance cover, so she didn't have it in her policy for a rental car to be provided, and she was worrying about how she was going to get to work and get her kids around. Jon was all gentle smiles and reassurances, telling her that they had no problem with giving her the courtesy car until her car was fixed.

 _All_ of them were such good people, not just the people who worked at the garage, but also just the group of friends that he had found himself in.

While Jon seemed to have a bit of a harder, more sarcastic edge that a lot of them, he still had a good heart. Jem was just adorable, sort of like their mascot, with the way he was always singing and making the lot of them laugh. Alec didn't open up to people very easily, he had always been like that, but he had a hard of gold under the rough exterior. Isabelle, who was always welcoming and sweet, and Simon, who seemed a bit geeky, but caring. Sebastian, who Jace already knew was a great guy, who had pretty much admitted that he had felt something more for Jace but felt as though Jace just didn't want more—and yet he still welcomed Jace into his home when he needed to stay.

Then there was Clary. Who knew that Sebastian—her _boyfriend_ —had had a fling with another guy, and then still been okay with him staying at her place. And staying there alone with him as well, while she was out of the city. He didn't understand an open relationship—and even if that open relationship was now definitely _closed_ , he didn't get how Clary had been okay with Sebastian fooling around with Jace. But now, even if she had previously been fine with it, she was under no obligation to let Jace into their home.

But she had.

And that just made this whole thing harder, because Jace so wanted to be a part of their world, be a part of this extended family that they had formed, and he was being stupid, letting some feelings for a guy that he barely knew mess things up. Sebastian had been honest with him, and he had acted like a kid throwing a tantrum and taken off.

The day passed by painfully slow, but no one made any comment about what had happened in the weekend, and it definitely didn't seem as though Jem knew anything about it. When they broke for lunch, all of them headed over to Jon's house, like they often did when they weren't heading to the diner down the road to buy something. Magnus had cooked up lunch for the three of them this morning, something fancy and covered with herbs, that was amazing, and the other boys had a variation of sandwiches and buns. Jon and Jem kept conversation going, Jem talking about what he and his girl had done in the weekend, and Jon recounting an awkward encounter when he and Lydia were out last night and had run into her dad with his new girlfriend, who only looked about a year or two older than his daughter. Alec was quiet most of the time, and although Sebastian joined with teasing Jem about how love struck he was, he wasn't quite as vocal as he usually was, his eyes flicking over to Jace every few minutes.

When the day ended and the boys were all cleaning their hands, getting ready to leave, Sebastian waited at the door as Jace finished up. Alec was already outside, standing near his car and talking to Jem, and Jon was still in his office.

"So, Jace?" Sebastian gave him a hopeful smile. "Did you...Are you coming back tonight?" Jace already knew the answer—had known the answer since he had walked into the garage this morning. He stayed quiet as he picked up the towel from the hook next to the sink, drying his hands before turning around to Sebastian.

"I've still got some clothes at Alec's—the ones from the weekend," it was a flimsy excuse, but it gave him one more night, just to try and get his head and heart settled. "I'll go back with him tonight and bring them in tomorrow, and then get a ride back with you tomorrow after work?" He tried to make it sound as though this was something completely okay with him, even though he felt nervous just in the same room as Sebastian. Sebastian nodded, although the hopeful expression on his face fell.

"Alright," he said, his tone a bit short. "I'll see you tomorrow." Jace opened his mouth, wondering if he should say something more, but then Sebastian left the garage, and Jace was left alone.

It was later that evening, almost eleven o'clock, and Jace was laying on the pull out couch in the lounge, when his phone vibrated. It was plugged into the charger at the wall, just out of arms reach, and Jace was thinking about ignoring it. Not many people had his number, and a text this late seemed more like a booty call than anything else, and it was probably going to be the girl from the cafe. But for some reason, he crawled out of the couch and looked at the screen.

Clary's name flashed.

Even though they had gotten closer in the past few weeks, they hadn't exchanged any text messages or phone calls since the night Sebastian had given him Clary's number and he had picked her up from work.

 _We miss you._

It was simple.

Three tiny words.

And yet it made Jace's heart ache in his chest, completely surprised at the words. He hadn't expected her to reach out. Throughout Saturday and Sunday, Sebastian had messaged Jace, but Clary hadn't sent anything through to him, and he really hadn't expected anything from her.

Jace stared at his phone for almost five minutes, tapping the screen with his thumb every couple of seconds so that it didn't fade to black.

He had no idea how he was feeling. Definitely confused, but maybe...Maybe a little happy? Happy that Clary had reached out to him?

"Fuck," Jace muttered, dropping the phone back onto the ground and crawling back onto the couch. It was hard enough to face the fact that he definitely still had feelings for Sebastian, he definitely couldn't bring himself to start considering these feelings that were developing for Clary as well. So instead, he rolled over so that his back was to the phone, and attempted to sleep.

 _Now, my first thing is a Youtube video. It's only a couple of minutes, but it is absolutely fucking beautiful, my heart just...Shit. Anyway. Watch it. It's called_ Homophobia In 2018 | Time For Love _on the channel BBC Social. Please watch it. It's just a few minutes, just a tiny bit of your day, but it's just incredible._

 _Okay! So I have so many songs! Okay, so_ Afterlife _by XYLO. And then_ 1950 _and_ Talia _by King Princess—also, I heard that she and Amanda Stenburg are dating? Not sure if that's true, but damn cute couple if they are. Then there's_ Wild Love _by James Bay. The music video for this is absolutely amazing, Natalia looks fucking heavenly. I can't get over that song. Then there's_ Skydiving, Saviour _and_ We Were Here _by Lights. And then an older one,_ Life After You _, by Daughtry._ And What's Love Got To Do With It _, the cover by Prides, which I heard in_ Dynasty _and fell in love with._

Cloak and Dagger _has recently finished and it was amazing, and you should all definitely be watching it. There's also the show_ Castle Rock _that we've just started with Bill Skaarsgard, and I'll watch anything with him in it. Movie wise, we've recently watched_ Game Night _and_ Stronger _, which were both really good. We're September now and there's so many new seasons of my shows starting! What ones are you guys looking forward to?_

 _As a closing note, is anyone else keeping up with all this Jeffree Star drama and his ex-friends? I'm finding all of it hilarious. Me and one my best friends are in love with it all. Haha. Oh—and 21/08/2018 was apparently Fanfiction Appreciation Day! So, happy...That? Haha._

 _OMG—and everyone should watch_ Crazy Rich Asians _. I fucking loved it._

 _Let me know what you thought of the story, let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter x_


	17. Chapter 17

The first night after he went back with Sebastian, on the back of his bike, Jace felt a bit awkward. He didn't doubt for a second that Sebastian had told Clary about what they had discussed at her birthday lunch, that had resulted in him running off. But Clary hadn't made any comment about it, and other than staying quiet the first evening that Jace was back, she treated him just like she had the other weeks. Sebastian, on the other hand, seemed to second guess everything that he was saying, as though he was afraid of offending or upsetting Jace.

Jace hated it, because Sebastian technically hadn't done anything wrong. But he didn't want to tell him that and risk starting up a whole other conversation, because he just wasn't ready for that.

So for the week following the incident, he actually felt more comfortable around _Clary_ than he did around Sebastian. Which was so weird, considering the way he had felt about Clary when he had first moved out to Los Angeles, a feeling of resentment in his stomach in his stomach every time she was mentioned and most definitely when he had first met her. The more he got to know her, and the warmth that seemed to exude around everyone she cared about, the more he thought that the initial awkwardness between them came down to himself, and how he had given her the cold shoulder during the first week or so. Because while Clary was sarcastic and sassy, she wasn't rude.

Some mornings she was there, and other mornings she was gone, with her car still in the driveway but her running shoes gone from the door. At least Jace knew that Sebastian had said to him when he had said that Clary was going out for a run in the mornings, and she wasn't just trying to avoid him.

It was Monday night of the week after Jace had come back to their home, when it seemed as though Clary was going to try and resolve things between the boys. Jace had spent the Saturday night at Isabelle's house, bonding with Max while Simon and Isabelle went out on a date night, getting home, and didn't come home until late Sunday afternoon. Clary was out working in the garden, and Sebastian was cooking in the kitchen. Jace helped Clary for a bit, carrying around the branches that she had pruned from one of the trees around to the compost heap behind the garage, and then sitting down on the grass and talking to her. Monday, Jace and Sebastian returned from work at the time as Clary who was just getting out of her car as they pulled into the driveway.

"Oh good," she said as she reached up on her tiptoes and gave Sebastian a quick kiss on the mouth and shot Jace a bright smile. "I did the grocery shopping, so you two can bring the bags in." She pressed the button for the boot on her key fob and then wandered off inside, leaving the two boys to grab the bags out of the boot. At one point, they both reached for the same bag and their knuckles bumped together, and Sebastian let out an awkward laugh while Jace just jerked his hand back quickly. When they both got inside, Clary was pulling things out of the cupboard and putting them on the bench.

Jace tried not to stare too hard at how good her ass looked in the black pencil skirt she was wearing, just more pronounced by the heels she was wearing. He glanced toward Sebastian and realized that the other man had caught him looking at Clary. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the way Sebastian raised an eyebrow, and quickly cleared his throat.

"So...Do you need help with dinner?" Jace asked as he looked around. Clary did most of the cooking, but Jace still felt as though he should offer to help. Besides, he liked helping her in the kitchen. Before the awkwardness that had sent him running off to Alec and Magnus', he had enjoyed the way that they had all moved around the kitchen, the boys probably getting in the way more than they were actually helping, but it had still felt warm and fun.

"Yup, you two are cooking," Clary stated.

"You're trusting us alone in the kitchen?" Sebastian smirked, moving in to loop an arm around her narrow waist and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're not that terrible," Clary rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's just meatballs. You guys have got this." She pulled away from Sebastian to open up a cupboard underneath the sink and pulled out a receipe book, flipping to a page that looked well used. "Here you go. I'm off to have a shower." She winked at Jace in a way that was slightly confusing, and then skipped out of the room. Sebastian looked toward Jace, and Jace opened his mouth to respond when movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A small grey cat with one white paw had come into the kitchen, giving him a nasty look.

Jace knew that Clary had a cat, and Sebastian had told him that it was named Narcissa, after some Harry Potter character, but he had never actually seen it. He saw Clary fill it's food and water bowls in the mornings, that were then empty in the evening, but still hadn't caught sight of the cat. Sebastian had said that while Narcissa—or Cissy, as Clary called her—hated pretty much everyone except Clary and Isabelle, and barely ever came out when anyone else was around. Clary hadn't seemed to phased by the fact that her cat had hardly ever been around, but it seemed as though maybe the cat was getting used to the third person being around the house constantly.

"Hey, Cissy," Sebastian sounded hilariously tentative as he looked down at the little grey cat, and Jace was relieved to see her nasty expression remain fixed on her face as she looked toward the other man. So at least Jace knew it wasn't just him. "If we both just stay really still, she might come in," Sebastian continued keeping his voice soft.

Jace honestly did try to keep his sneeze in.

His nose was twitching and his lips pressed together, trying to hold it in, but then he let out a loud sneeze that made Sebastian jerk in surprise and sent Cissy sprinting out of the kitchen. Jace winced and looked over at Sebastian who's eyes were wide open and his lips were parted.

And then he started laughing.

Jace was surprised for a moment, given how tense everything had been between the two of them in the past week. But Sebastian was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to gather in the corners of his eyes and he was holding his stomach, leaning against the corner of the bench, and Jace couldn't help but laugh along with him.

They laughed for longer than they should have, the both of them probably just continuing because it was a _relief_ not to feel tense around each other.

When they finally stopped, the air just felt so much clearer, and Jace could breathe easier. Sebastian and Jace started to move around each other to start dinner. Jace took the mince out of the plastic bag while Sebastian put away the rest of the groceries that Clary had brought that they wouldn't need for dinner. One of the things that made him smile was the two different types of beer that Clary had brought, the kind that Sebastian preferred, and then the kind that Jace preferred. She was adapting to him living with him, and she was doing small things to try and make Jace more comfortable.

She was even trying to mend fences between Jace and her boyfriend.

Sebastian loved her for it.

"I'm _starving_ ," Clary announced when she came back into the kitchen after her shower. Jace glanced over her shoulder as she came over to stand behind Sebastian, wrapping her arms around his waist and ducking her head around Sebastian's body to take in a deep breath of the meat sauce that Jace had mixed together and dumped into the frying pan that Sebastian was currently stirring. "That smells fucking amazing... _Soooo_ I'm guessing that it was Jace that made the sauce."

"Hey!" Sebastian attempted to protest, while Jace just grinned as he picked up the pot of fettuccine and tipped it into the strainer to get rid of the water that it had been cooking in.

"How much longer?" Clary asked as she managed to reach out and dunk the tip of one finger into the meat sauce and stuck it in her mouth. She let out a groan that was almost orgasmic and Jace's eyes widened, glad he wasn't actually looking at her as she sucked on her finger.

"Probably only a few minutes. You want to crack open a couple of those beers? It's pretty warm—we can sit outside tonight," Sebastian said and Clary nodded. She got out beers from the fridge, and Jace heard her turning on some music in the lounge, turning up the volume so that they would be able to hear it clearly from outside. Jace recognized the music, it was a singer that Clary listened to a lot, but he didn't know who she was. She had a raspy voice, he liked her music because it was kind of floaty, and he liked the way that Clary danced when this singer was on.

Not that he should be thinking like that.

But maybe he also liked the way that Sebastian looked at Clary when this singer was on, and when she was dancing around the lounge. It was soft, loving, and it made Jace's heart beat faster.

"You do the fettuccine first," Sebastian prompted and Jace realized that he had hesitated, looked toward the door of the kitchen even though Clary wasn't in his line of sight. Jace tried to tip equal shares of fettuccine onto the plates, but it wasn't cooperating, all trying to stick together and Jace had to try and use his fingers to separate them. Sebastain snorted and nudged him out of the way as he started to tip the sauce and meatballs onto the plates. Jace's head tipped to the side, and from where he was standing now, he could see Clary.

She was outside, on the back deck of their house, but she wasn't sitting down at the table. She was standing, singing along quietly to the music that was playing from the lounge. She was swaying from side to side, and Jace's eyes drifted down over her. She was wearing a short pair of sleeping shorts and an oversized shirt that was probably Sebastian's. Her hair was damp and in a ponytail, and when Clary turned around, she was looking directly at Jace, and she gave him a small smile.

"You take this one," Sebastian said quietly, and Jace cleared his throat to look back toward Sebastian, taking the plate from him. Jace took the plate from him while Sebastian carried the other two, and they walked outside, putting all three plates down. Clary smiled at them, sitting down opposite Jace and taking in another sniff of the food.

"Holy shit, man," she stated. "This smells so fucking _good_!" Sebastian disappeared for a moment to grab some knives and forks, and handed them out when he reappeared.

"Dig in," Sebastian grinned at the three of them.

* * *

Another two weeks passed by, and things felt normal again.

Although, 'normal' was relative.

It was so strange to think that just a couple of months ago he was back in New York with his mum, and it felt as though there was no end to the repeat cycle of sleep, work, clean up after Celine, sleep. Sleep, work, worry about Celine, sleep. Sleep, work, go out and drink, clean up after Celine, sleep.

But now, this was his new normal.

And he liked it.

Another thing that he liked was the money that he was able to save up. When he was back in New York, he had to cover the cost of _everything_. He paid for the rent, he paid for the utilities, he paid for food, and clothes, and their medical insurance. The only thing that he hadn't paid for was the alcohol that Celine drank herself into a stupor with everyday, which she always managing to find money for.

But given he wasn't even paying board—Sebastian and Clary refused to accept it, saying that they didn't need it to cover their mortgage repayments, they just wanted to help him out—and so his only expenses were for the gas for his bike, and helping out with groceries and utilities, his bank balance was looking healthier than it had in a while. When he went out with his cousins and their friends, sometimes he would even buy a round of drinks, given they took turns, and it felt like weight lifted from his shoulders to know that he could repay their kindness in even a small way.

Which lead him to where he was today.

Outside an artsy little store that had prices that made him feel just a little bit nauseous. He had got the name of the store from some of the paper bags that Clary had in her art room, the logo on almost all of the bags in there, holding her supplies. It had been almost a month since her birthday, but he still felt the need to get her something, just to say thank you, and maybe even sorry, for invading her home and space, and having her accept that so graciously.

"Hi," Jace approached the woman behind the counter, who looked as though she was definitely an artist herself. She had multiple colours of dye in her blonde hair, mismatched dangly earrings hanging down near her shoulder, and bright purple lipstick. She was wearing a swishing pink and blue dress, and there were paint stains on her clothes. "I was looking for a gift? I kind of don't really know what I'm looking for though..." he made a face as he looked around the store.

"Of course," she smiled at him. "Do you know what type of medium she uses? Oil, acrylic, water colour, charcoal, pencil?" The clueless look on Jace's face probably said it all, and she looked a little sorry for him as she let out a laugh. "Alright, uh..." she tipped her head to the side as she thought. "So she's good, I'm guessing?" The young woman asked.

"She's amazing," Jace stated honestly, not really thinking too much about his answer as he glanced around the store, feeling completely out of his element. The art work he saw hanging in the lounge everyday was proof of how good she was, and he also learned slowly, as he went to other houses, that she had pieces hanging at Alec and Magnus', at Isabelle and Simons, at Jon's— _everyone knew_ how good she was.

"Ah," she smiled knowingly. "Girlfriend."

"No," Jace quickly responded, and then winced as he wondered how to explain Clary. Girlfriend of a friend? That just sounded sleazy. And roommate sounded completely impersonal. "She's someone I haven't known for very long, but she's done a lot for me. And I wanted to say thank you."

"Oh okay," the woman nodded as she took in a deep breath. "Well, does she use pencils? Paint?"

"Paint," Jace said, glad that he knew the answer to actually one of the questions.

"Alright," the woman thought for a moment and then came out from around the counter and walked over to a bench in the corner. The store was small, but it was full, items overflowing on almost every surface, and Jace had to squeeze through a space between two desks to follow after the shop owner. She seemed to find what she was looking for and shuffled to the side so he could see what was in front of her. "What about these?"

They were glass jars, all different shapes and sizes, and while there were about twenty-five or thirty on the shelves, but they seemed to be in sets of five or six, patterned in the same way. The jars had different patterns painted on the side, with delicate chains on some of them, and molded flowers on others.

"They can hold paint brushes, pencils, water—anything, really," she told him. Jace pursed his lips as he looked them over, stepping forward and skimming his eyes over them. They were pretty, even if they weren't the sort of thing that he would usually shop for. He really should have brought Isabelle along, she would be better at picking them out.

"What about those ones?" Jace's interest peeked as he spotted ones tucked in at the back. The glass on the lower half was green, and then faded translucent as the jar went on. The top half had a delicate golden chains that were looped around the open top. They were simple, but pretty, and the green looked like it matched her eyes.

"Yeah? Good choice," the woman smiled as she picked up three of them, holding them carefully and then nodding at the two other in the set. "Grab those, and we'll get them all wrapped up for you." Jace smiled awkwardly at her as he grabbed the last three, following her back to the counter.

 _Sooooo the first thing I want to say was that the P!nk concert was absolutely amazing! Holy shit, she was incredible. She spent more time up in the air than she did on the stage. It was also her birthday the night we went, so her daughter and hubby came out with a cake, and shit...The whole thing was just amazing._

 _I rewatched a couple of old movies when I was off work sick, some of my old favourites;_ Dinosaur, Matilda _and_ Stardust _. Honestly, I can never get tired of them. Animated movies are my go-to's when I'm sick or drained and just done with life. Haha. They're just the beeeest. I also really wanted to recommend_ Hannah Gandsby: Nanette _. It's a comedy special on Netflix and I really don't want to say much about it and give it away, but it is absolutely incredible, and not quite what you would expect? Watch iiiiiit._

 _Song wise, I'm super obsessed with_ Dynasty _by MIIA, and all the fandom videos on Youtube using that song. And_ High Hopes _by Panic! at the Disco. Everytime I hear that song, all I can see is Shawn Mendes appreciative look at Brendon Urie as he was performing it at the VMA's. Hahaha. Also_ High On Life _by Martin Garrix,_ Temporary Love _by Joey,_ 48 _by Moss Kena and_ The Getaway _by Hilary Duff. If you guys have any recommendations, send them through!_

 _I've also become re-obsessed with 5SOS. They were amazing in concert when I saw them a few years ago, but I hadn't been a massive fan then. I ammmm now! Luke Hemming in that damn glittery eyeliner. Shit! And maybe when he and Michael play each others guitars, I get intense heart eyes, I don't know..._

 _Oh, has anyone watched the newest season of_ Ozark _? I_ haven't _gotten around to it yet, not sure if it's as good as the first season? Also, we finally finished_ Banshee _. Haha. I know that it's a super old show, but we just have so many that we took ages to get through. But we finally did! God, it was brilliant. I absolutely adored Job and Sugar, and Siobhan just broke my heart. Overall, the show was great, and if you haven't seen it, please do!_

 _Oooh, oooh! And_ The Gifted _is back! Thunderblink is beautiful and I'm totally digging Andy's look. And_ SVU _!_

 _Oh—and is everyone else watching the new Shane Dawsons documentary? I don't really like the subject matter at all, dude's an ass, but I love him._

 _Omg. Okay. I'll stop here. God I hate these once monthly updates. Can't wait till my schedule is less busy. Anyway. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, and let me know if you want a preview xx_


	18. Chapter 18

_Okay, so...I had a really, really,_ really, really _shitty day. Not the worst I've had, not by far, I actually managed to get myself out of bed and somehow drove to work, although through anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, I don't remember much. So I had a horrible, horrible day, but then I came home and my husband had brought me roses, and chocolate, and my favourite lollies—and not_ just _my favourite lollies, but he went through all the packs at the shop to find the one with the most of the pineapple lollies, which are my_ favourite of the favourite _. Then we watched almost three hours of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams videos, and fell more in love with Garrett Watts._

 _And now I feel a lot better. A_ hell _of a lot better._

 _So much better that I wanted to do something to make you guys happy as well :)_

 _Here's an update..._

Jace held onto the present for almost a whole week. He had brought it on Sunday, and it was Friday morning before he actually gathered up the courage to bring it out of his room. It was ridiculous, it was going on two months that he had been staying with them, minus the small interlude where he went back to Magnus and Alec's, and he felt comfortable and at home with them now. Things were better with Sebastian, and things were good with Clary, and it was just a birthday present, it wasn't that big of a deal.

But on Friday morning, before he and Sebastian left for work, and while Clary was in the shower after her run, he left the wrapped present on the kitchen bench and then ran outside to join Sebastian, who had already turned his motorbike on. Clary left after them and returned earlier than them on a Friday, so she had time while he wasn't there to unwrap the present. The woman at the art shop had wrapped up the glass jars carefully in green crepe paper and then slipped them into a big white and blue bag that was stuffed with more crepe paper. It was pretty, and it had been shoved behind the bedside table in his room since he had brought it home last weekend.

Jace wasn't sure if Clary would find it before she went to work, given she didn't usually eat breakfast throughout the week, but that didn't stop him from being nervous through the day, waiting and checking his phone, wondering if she was going to send him a message. There was nothing though, and Jon started teasing him, saying that he was worse than Jem when checking his phone to see if his girlfriend, Tessa Gray, had text him and asking who it was that he was panting after. So Jace shoved his phone away and tried not to think about it.

It was stupid.

He told himself that it was just like getting a present for Isabelle, but he knew that it was different.

The way he felt about Clary was a bit complicated.

Or, maybe it wasn't all that complicated, really.

He liked her.

In the same way that he liked Sebastian.

Which was confusing, and so he pushed it to the back of his head.

"Hey, we're going to the club opening tonight, right?" Alec commented as they were closing up the garage. "Magnus has been talking about it for the past couple of weeks, and there's no way in hell that you guys are leaving me alone."

"I'm heading straight up to Tess'," Jem winced sympathetically.

"And me and Lyds have a dinner reservation," Jon added.

"Aren't you guys, like, not even together?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "But you're going out on a dinner date?"

"Well, I'm hoping to change that tonight," Jon shrugged, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "I mean, we've been doing this thing for a while now, and I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend and all that official shit tonight." There was a wolf whistle from Sebastian and Jem made some lewd noises, while Alec and Jace just exchanged amused looks. "Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up, the lot of you."

"I don't think we have plans, right, Jace?" Sebastian looked over at Jace after they had finished laughing at Jon. Jace enjoyed the warm feeling in his stomach at the way that Sebastian so casually involved Jace in his plans, and shook his head.

"Not that I know of," he replied.

"Sweet, we're in. Clary will be keen," Sebastian said.

"I'll text Iz, see if her and Si can get a last minute babysitter," Alec pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly starting a text.

"Gotta love how you left it til the last minute to actually invite us," Sebastian commented. "What if we had plans?"

"As if you guys ever plan shit in advance," Alec rolled his eyes as he looked up.

"Hey! I'm organized and shit for my evening!" Jon piped up.

"And how many times has Lydia been on your ass to actually make plans, rather than leaving it all up to her?" Jem jibed him playfully and it was Jon's turn to roll his eyes. "Even though you're _not dating_ ," he added with a teasing tone, and was pointedly ignored.

"Okay, so text me the details of the club, and we'll be there," Sebastian spoke up before looking over at Jace. "I'll see you back at the house."

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you," Jace said with a smile. Alec watched the exchange between them, as Sebastian reached out to touch Jace on the shoulder by way of farewell and then walked out the side door of the garage. Jace didn't think much of it until he turned his head and saw Alec still watching him. He lifted his eyebrow in a question, but Alec just shook his head and looked away. Jace said his goodbyes a few minutes later, around the time that Jem started waxing poetry about his girlfriends hair, and then nervousness set back in as he made his way to his bike. It didn't take long for him to get home in the traffic, and when he pulled into the drive way and saw Clary's car already in the garage, Sebastian's bike parked next to it, he took in a deep breath.

The shower was running as he came into the house, and Jace wondered idly if it was Clary in the shower, but then she came out of the doorway from the hall and gave him a blinding smile.

"Late birthday present?" She asked as she came over to where he was standing. She smelt good, clean and fresh, compared to how he was dirty from the days work. "They're beautiful," she told him earnestly. "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Jace began, shaking his head. "I—"

"No, it wasn't nothing," Clary stated, reaching up to wrap her arms around his shoulders and give him a hug. She must have used some sort of citrusy body wash and she felt so soft in his arms, pressed against his body. "Thank you." Jace felt his cheeks heat up a little and he cleared his throat.

"So, we're going out to this club tonight, right?" Jace changed the subject.

* * *

"We are getting a taxi tonight!" Sebastian protested when Jace settled for a beer when they managed to get to the front of the bar. "We are going to drink, and you are going to have a good time!" He pursed his lips together and tilted his head to the side as he leaned in to Jace so that his friend could hear him over the music. "I know things have still been a little awkward between us since that afternoon at Clary's birthday, I just want things to be okay between us." From the way that his head was tilted, when someone bumped into Sebastian's side, his mouth moved forward and brushed against Jace's ear for a split second, sending a shiver down Jace's spine.

"You think that getting drunk is the answer?" Jace lifted an eyebrow, trying to lighten the mood with a small uptick of his lips. It worked, because Sebastian smirked back at him and shrugged.

"Can't hurt, right?" He joked and turned back to the bartender. Jace agreed to go for an old fashioned and Sebastian put in the order for the two men as well as Clary's vodkatini. Jace couldn't help but watch Sebastian as he ordered, laughing as the bartender joked with him, watching the way his blonde hair flopped over his forehead. It was longer than it had been when he first moved in, and it made Jace want to reach out and touch it.

He had been trying to ignore those feelings, but Jace was getting the feeling that they weren't going to go away.

Maybe it was just going to be something that he had to accept.

When their drinks were pushed over the bar to them, Jace took his while Sebastian carried both his own and Clary's. Magnus and Alec had been there when they had arrived, along with Isabelle, Maia and Jordan. Simon had stayed home to look after Max, letting Isabelle go out for the night with their friends. Maia seemed to be intent on getting drunk, and when Jace and Sebastian got back to the table, she grabbed Magnus and Isabelle's wrists and dragged them down toward the dance floor.

"You owe me a dance tonight," Clary announced as she took her drink from her boyfriend, speaking loudly so that Jace could hear her.

"Ah, no, that's okay—why?" Jace stumbled over his words as the red head laughed.

"You didn't dance with me on my birthday," she stated. Jace opened his mouth, to argue the point, but then Clary let out a scream. "Ooh! It's Aline!" She didn't bother to try and savor her drink as she threw it back, wincing a little and then reaching over to kiss Sebastian quickly on the cheek. "I'll be back later!" And with that, she walked off quickly, moving easily in the high heels she was wearing.

"She's the one who's running the club," Sebastian informed Jace. "So it's a pretty big night for her, with the first opening and all." Jace nodded, seeking Clary out with his eyes, watching as she approached a woman who was standing near the bar, wearing a gorgeous black dress that clung to her slim figure. "She's also the reason that we're getting discounted drinks all night, so here's to Aline!" Sebastian grinned and held up his glass, and Jace and Alec clinked theirs against his.

Jace lost count of the drinks that were brought over to their table, and he was very grateful to Aline for the discounted drinks or else his bank account would look very unhealthy in the morning.

The club opening was a success, if the amount of people that kept flooding into the place and the alcohol that kept getting pushed over the bar was anything to judge it by, and Aline Penhallow came over to their table some time after midnight to see how they were all doing, introducing herself to Jace. Isabelle and Clary came over at the point as well, taking one of Jace's arms each and dragging him onto the dance floor. Isabelle's dance moves were more about bouncing and throwing her arms above her head, while Clary danced a little closer to him, one of her arms around his waist and bumping her hips against his more often than not. The alcohol in his system was making him brave, and he circled an arm around her waist as well, holding her a little closer.

"Jace?!" Came a shout from behind the three, and Jace ignored it at first, assuming it was one of their friends coming over to join them, and so they would be with them soon enough. Plus, he really liked the vibe that he and Clary had going on and didn't want to disrupt it. "Jace?!" Came another shout, and Clary seemed to hear it as well, because her dancing faltered as she looked past him.

"I think someone's trying to get your attention," she murmured, reaching up to speak directly in his ear. Jace frowned, his hand shifting to rest on her hip, twisting his body around to see who was calling out to him.

Kaelie.

"Uh," Jace completely stopped dancing and Clary tripped slightly, alcohol making her wobbly on her feet, and she had been swaying with him, so the sudden stop threw her off balance. She rested her hand on his chest to steady herself, and she stared at Kaelie, a questioning expression on his face.

"Who's this?" She asked, tipping her head to the side, her long ponytail falling over her shoulder.

"I'm Kaelie," Kaelie didn't look particularly happy as her eyes dropped down to Clary's hand on his chest, and then to Jace's hand on her hip. "Who are you?" Clary raised an eyebrow, and she looked up at Jace and her real question on her face was clear, 'who is this bitch?' Jace couldn't actually help but let out a short laugh as Clary looked back at Kaelie, her upper lip curled and a snarky look in her eye.

"I'm Clary, sweetie," she answered, sugar dripping from her voice.

"Kaelie's my ex-girlfriend," Jace explained, feeling a little bit stronger in the blonde's presence with Clary at his side. He didn't have feelings for her anymore, but she was still someone that he had spent eighteen months of his life dedicated to, and who had pretty much cheated on him and abused his trust the whole time.

"Ah," Clary uttered the word simply, but the dislike seemed to be clear on her face. Jace wanted to laugh again, but he decided it probably wasn't best.

"I'm here on holiday, with a couple of friends," Kaelie continued, pointedly not sparing another look at Clary, tilting her head to the side and blinking her eyes up at Jace. She was beautiful, he could still see that, despite how she had lead him on, but there was just something in her eyes and the tight corners of her lips that made him feel detached from her beauty. "Maybe we could...Get together or something, while I'm in town." Jace couldn't help but frown and he started shaking his head. Kaelie frowned and looked as though she was going to say something, which Jace really didn't have the energy to argue with. Clary's hand shifted, tightening around him and suddenly she was reaching up on her tip toes and pressing a hard kiss against Jace's lips.

Jace was completely stunned, and he didn't respond for a moment. But then her hand slid up, from his shoulder to the back of his neck, fingers sliding through his hair and circling around the nape of his neck, and he realized what was happening. But the simple idea of pulling away didn't even occur to him, and instead he returned Clary's pressure.

He could taste tequila on her lips, and something salty, and the slight stickiness of her lip stick. At some point his body was turned back around to face hers, away from Kaelie, and he let his arms both go around her. It was a good minute or so that passed before they pulled apart, and they were both breathing heavily. Jace stared at her, his eyes heavy, and there was a surprised but not regretful expression on Clary's face. He had completely forgotten about Kaelie, and he had completely forgotten that they were in a public place and their friends and _her boyfriend_ were around them, until he realized Sebastian was standing next to them.

Jace had no idea when he had gotten there, but there was absolutely no way in hell that he had missed their kiss. And even if he _had_ , the pair of them still had their arms around each other and Jace was pretty sure some of Clary's dark coloured lipstick was still on his mouth.

"This is Kaelie," Clary suddenly said, and Jace was so caught off guard he couldn't do anything except watch as Clary pointed over his shoulder. Sebastian looked in the direction that he was pointing, and he lifted an eyebrow. Jace followed her gaze and remembered that his ex-girlfriend was standing _right there_ , watching the whole thing with a stunned look on her face. He honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he had the exact same expression on his own face, but that was quickly hidden when Clary tugged at his hand. "It was nice meeting you," she said in a sugary sweet voice to Kaelie, wiggling her fingers at the blonde before pulling Jace a few feet away, which might as well have been a hundred feet, given how quickly they were enveloped by the crowd of dancers. Sebastian came with them this time though, and he stood in front of them, facing his girlfriend and Jace.

"Seb, I—" Jace really had no idea what he was going to say, but there really wasn't much point because it was so loud that even _he_ couldn't hear what he was saying over the newest song that had started playing. Sebastian watched them, and his eyes weren't angry or critical. Jace wasn't really dancing, still completely caught off guard by the kiss, but Clary was dancing, circling her hips backward against his, her back firmly against his chest. Sebastian's heated eyes flickered down to Clary, and Jace couldn't help but follow the look.

He couldn't see as much of Clary as Jace could, but from the way that she was tilting her head to the side, he could see her long, slim neck, and right down her dress, over her smooth cleavage. Then he looked back up at Sebastian, who had stepped even closer and and was now _directly_ in front of them, so close that when he turned his hand palm outward and curled his fingers, they were touching Clary's hip. He stretched them out a bit further and then they were touching Jace's hip, and his thumb pressed into his hip bone, hot through the material of his shirt. Sebastian leaned forward, his body hard against Clary's and in turn, pushing her up hard against Jace.

"We should get out of here," Sebastian's voice was a growl, from deep in his throat, and it sent shivers through his entire body. Clary twisted her head backwards so that she could see Jace's face, and it seemed as though they wouldn't be going anywhere until he gave the go ahead. So Jace swallowed hard and nodded.

He had no idea _what_ exactly they were doing, but Clary turned linking her fingers with his, before reaching and doing the same thing with her boyfriend, and Sebastian lead the way out of the crowded club.

 _Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, or today is that day for a lot of you, the 10th._

 _Please be kind to each other, people have so much going on in their heads that just isn't obvious from the outside._

 _Much love xx_


	19. Chapter 19

_Hey guys :) So this is my last update of the year. I've got quite a lengthy A/N below, but in case you guys don't want to read my droning on and on, then I want to wish you guys a safe and a happy holidays and I will be back next year xxx_

 _Also, I have posted several new stories, including a werewolf one called_ Put Your Heart On Mine, _and a biker one,_ Wrong Side Of A Parallel Universe _. I definitely have my favourite AU's. Haha. So check those out :)_

There was silence in the uber on the way home, but it was charged, and there were hands wandering all over the backseat. Sebastian was sitting in the middle, and he had an arm wrapped around Clary's shoulder while his hand was resting high on Jace's thigh. It had been on his own lap when they had first gotten into the car, but then his fingers had started inching over, touching the side of Jace's thigh, and then slowly inched it's way up further. Jace wasn't complaining in the slightest, in fact, he was already half hard in the jeans he was wearing, but that didn't mean he wasn't completely confused.

Clary had kissed him.

In front of Kaelie—but more importantly, in front of _Sebastian_.

And it hadn't been a simple kiss either, just a quick brush of their lips, it had been a full on kiss, and he could still taste the tequila from her tongue and he might still have a smudge of her lipstick on his mouth.

Now he was in an uber, with two extremely attractive people who he happened to live with, and who also happened to be going _home_ with. Two people who were in a relationship—a very committed and loving relationship—and yet there was something twisting in the pit of his stomach that told him that there was something more that was going on. Maybe there was going to be another kiss, maybe more...From the way that Sebastian's fingers were flexing, it seemed that he was definitely hinting that there was more.

When they got back to their house, and parked up outside, Jace made a move to get his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans, but Sebastian just waved him off and handed his credit card over. Clary got out on her side, and Jace got out his own door, and then waited on the road for Sebastian to finish paying, while Clary started walking up to the house. When Sebastian got out of the car and saw Jace still standing there, he stopped, one of his arms still resting on the frame of the open door. Sebastian swallowed hard, and his eyes flickered over Jace's face, over his cheekbones, sweeping down to his mouth and then to his collarbone, before back up to his eyes.

Jace wasn't too sure how long they would have stood there if the driver of the uber hadn't pressed the heel of his hand onto horn that shook them both out of their stationary position, and Sebastian quickly closed the door and they stepped away from the car. The uber pulled away from the curb, and then started walking slowly toward the house.

"So..." Sebastian took in another deep breath as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Kaelie? She's someone that you were seeing?"

"Yeah," Jace muttered. "It didn't end so well."

"She didn't look as though she was upset with you in there," Sebastian noted with a lift of his eyebrow as they went up the stairs onto the deck, and then through the back door of the house that Clary had unlocked.

"It didn't end well on _my_ part," Jace clarified as he followed Sebastian into the house and shut the door behind him.

"She cheat on you?" Sebastian asked, and in the dim light coming from what seemed like the bathroom down the hallway, Jace could see the frown on the other mans face. Jace just shrugged and Sebastian frowned even deeper. "That must've hurt," he murmured. Jace didn't verbally or physically respond to that, and Sebastian stepped closer, so close that when he swayed forward slightly, their hands bumped against each other, and he felt a brush of Sebastian's thighs against his. "Do you still have feelings for her?"

"No," Jace managed to croak out, trying to find his voice again. His heart was beating so fast in his chest that he was positive Sebastian could hear it echoing in the darkened room.

"Good," Sebastian whispered, and then pressed his lips against Jace's.

It was the second kiss of the evening that had caught Jace off guard, but there had been something in his bones that had been prepared for this, and he kissed back as soon as Sebastian leaned into him. Sebastian's lips were different from Clary's, they were a bit thinner, they were a lot less damp since she had been wearing lip gloss, and they were familiar.

Jace could never forget about how good those lips had felt against his, even though it had been years.

Jace didn't reach for Sebastian though, letting the other man set the pace, and he was so, so grateful when Sebastian reached out for him, curling his fingers into the shirt that Jace was wearing and pulling him closer. Jace couldn't stop the wanton moan that creeped up his throat and past through his lips as Sebastian's hips pressed against his, lining their bodies up against each other. He could stand there forever, just kissing Sebastian, just feeling his body finally back against his.

Sebastian seemed to have other ideas, though, because he pulled away, and when Jace opened his eyes and the world shifted from hazy to clear, it came back to him that they were standing in the lounge of the home that Sebastian shared with his girlfriend. But that didn't seem to be deterring Sebastian, because the other man just stared at him for a couple of long beats, his eyes, dark, glittering pools of quickly gathering lust as he stared at Jace. Jace watched him carefully as he swallowed hard, and then dropped his hand so that it circled around Jace's wrist.

Sebastian didn't say anything as he tugged on Jace's wrist, and Jace just went with him. His lips were still tingling from the pressure of Sebastian's mouth, and if this was a couple of years ago and they were in his dingy little apartment back in New York, he wouldn't have bothered with all this foreplay. He would have just shoved him down on the couch, ripped off his clothes and climbed on top of him.

But this wasn't New York, and the circumstances were completely different, so he kept his mouth shut and just followed after Sebastian. The bathroom light was on, but as they walked past, Jace noted that Clary wasn't in there. The only other light that was on was coming from the bedroom at the end of the hall...Sebastian and Clary's bedroom.

Jace hesitated for a moment, and Sebastian stopped, looking back at him questioningly, obviously not trying to push him into something he wasn't comfortable with, wasn't ready for. Then Jace stepped forward again and Sebastian continued down to the bedroom. Once they got to the doorway, Sebastian let go of Jace's hand, walking over to where Clary was standing. She looked slightly nervous, licking her lower lip, and fixing her attention on Sebastian as he approached her. The nervous tinge in her eyes was unusual, because he had never seen her looking anything other than confident and self-assured. Jace wasn't too sure what he was expecting to happen, but Sebastian advanced on Clary with a purpose, and she backed up until she was almost boxed into a corner of the room, and then his hands were on either side of her face, and they were kissing.

And it wasn't a brief kiss, the sort of one that they would usually exchange in front of him. This was a kiss that was filled with potential, he could hear the noises that their tongues and lips were making. Usually that sort of thing would disgust him, but this was different.

Jace was just finding himself getting harder in the jeans he was wearing, to the point where there was no way he could hide that fact that he was hard.

 _Throbbingly_ hard.

As they pulled apart, Jace's eyes flickered between Clary and Sebastian, wondering if this was something they were going to completely regret in the morning. But neither of them looked as though they were about to back down, in fact after they finished kissing, Sebastian's hand up Clary's skirt and rubbing over her ass, Clary looked over Sebastian's shoulder. She met Jace's eyes and the nervousness was gone, replaced with hunger, that he didn't doubt was reflected in his own eyes.

He had no idea how this was meant to work.

Was this a one time thing?

He had had threesome's before, but only with girls, and only with people that he didn't care about. Although he had had a threesome with Kaelie, but that was with her best friend and she had told him that was what she had wanted. Nothing had been different the next day, but then, it wasn't as though she actually _cared_ about him.

Not like Clary and Sebastian.

They loved each other, and he liked to think that they cared about him.

If he did this...Was everything going to change?

He only just had Sebastian back in his life, and Clary...He wasn't too sure what they were, but they were almost friends at least, and from the way she had looked at him tonight...

"Jace, it's okay," Clary's voice was soft, and she was chewing down on her bottom lip. Her full, luscious lip that he wanted to kiss so _fucking bad_ , but then Sebastian was moving away from Clary and toward Jace, and his eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Clary moved to sit down on the arm chair in the corner of the room, not looking as though she cared at all that her dress had hiked up around her waist and he could now blatantly see the scarlet red underwear she was wearing underneath.

"Are you okay with this?" Sebastian asked quietly, his face so close to Sebastian that he could smell the bourbon that Sebastian had been drinking. But his eyes were clear, and Jace knew what he was asking.

 _There was no way that he was going to say no. Not to Sebastian._

"Yeah," Jace managed to breathe out before Sebastian's lips were covering his. This kiss was even more purposeful than the one lounge, and Sebastian's hand slid down Jace's arms, slipping down to rest on his hips. Jace held back for about all of two seconds, and then he just let himself go.

He lifted his own hands to grip Sebastian's shirt, pulling it upward and sliding his hands underneath his shirt. Sebastian's skin was hot, probably running high from the alcohol he had consumed and the situation that they were finding themselves in. Jace couldn't help but shiver as Sebastian circled his hands around Jace's waist and brought him in close so that their hips were lined up, and their hardened cocks bumped against each other through their jeans.

It had been far too long since he had felt this.

Sebastian's lips, and his body...It felt perfect against his.

So perfect that it was going to be embarrassing how fast this was all going to be over.

Especially when Jace's eyelids flickered open and his hazy vision slowly focused, and he saw Clary watching them. Her lips were red and slick, and her lower lip was caught in her teeth as she sucked it into her mouth. Jace noted that she was still wearing the ridiculously high heels that she had been wearing in the club, and her cheeks were flushed red, and her chest was lifting and falling quickly. She had one leg hooked over the arm of the chair, her dress completely hiked up around her waist. One of her hands was gripping the other arm of the chair, and the other hand was between her leg, slowly stroking two of her fingers over the top of the underwear she was wearing, purposefully over where her slit was.

"On the bed," Sebastian muttered, and Jace was more than happy to comply.

Jace thought that he would remain aware of Clary in the corner of the room, but as soon as Sebastian whipped his own shirt over his head and threw it on the ground, climbing on top of Jace and beginning to undress him, he completely forgot about her.

Jace felt as though every single one of his senses had been completely overwhelmed as Sebastian finally got them both naked, and then covered his body with his own. It felt so completely different from having a girls body against his. While girls would be soft, curving edges, Sebastian's body was hard and firm, unrelenting. Sebastian bit down hard on his lower lip, pulling back to stare down at Jace, his eyes hungry and lustful. He started moving down on the bed, slowly at first, to give Jace a chance to say no.

But he didn't, and so Sebastian moved a lot more quickly, until he was half off the bed, sprawled between Jace's legs, and when Sebastian wrapped his mouth around Jace's throbbing cock, Jace's whole body arched off the bed. He vaguely heard a moan in the corner and in the back of his mind, there was a voice that was telling him to look toward Clary, because he didn't doubt for a second that whatever she was doing in the corner of the room was hot. _But he just couldn't open his eyes_.

Sebastian's tongue moving up and down the underside of his cock, curling around the head—it felt like fucking heaven. Jace willed his eyes open, not wanting to miss this, not wanting to pass on the opportunity to see Sebastian between his legs, but it was then that Sebastian moved a hand to touch his sac, and that sent a whole new wave of pleasure crashing over his body.

"Fuck," Jace groaned. "Fuck—Seb— _shit_." He twisted on the bed, one hand digging into the covers and clenching at the bedding, while the other was resting on his thigh, twitching to take hold of Sebastian's head to keep it still and just fuck his cock into Sebastian's face. Sebastian had liked that before, but that...That was under different circumstances, and he wasn't sure if that was something that was on the table now. So he held back, managing to keep the thrusts of his hips relatively aborted, but it was getting harder the longer they went on. Sebastian rolled his sac in his hand, squeezing, moving upwards to circle his fingers around the base of Jace's cock and pump it a few times, into his mouth. " _Seb_!" Jace groaned out again and when Sebastian twisted his fist around the base of his cock and sucked particularly hard. " _Fuck_!" He couldn't help it, his hips lifted off the bed, thrusting into Sebastian's mouth hard.

" _Oomph_ ," Sebastian made a choked, muffled noise but his mouth never fully left Jace's cock, even though he moved back to just suckle on the head. Jace finally managed to get his eyes, just a crack, however that was enough for him to see Sebastian and the image was even better than the ones that had plagued his dreams for the past few years.

Sebastian looked positively debauched, his lips red and swollen and stretched around Jace's cock. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was a total mess and his eyes were so dark, they looked black. He tried to keep his eyes open, wanting to stare down at Sebastian, but in the end, he needed to settle for alternating between them flickering shut, getting glimpses of the blonde head that was sucking with earnestness between his legs, and the darkness behind his eyelids.

"Seb— _Seb_ , I'm gonna—I'm gonna—" Jace tried to give Sebastian warning, the tension in his body about to explode, his toes beginning to curl, but Sebastian didn't pull back. His mouth slid all the way down, taking Jace fully into his mouth, and sucking hard. Jace let out a shout as he came, spilling down Sebastian's throat, and the blonde greedily swallowed it all down. Jace's eyes rolled back into his head as Sebastian gave a few more licks to clean him off, and Jace was vaguely aware of Sebastian moving to lay down on the bed next to him.

It took him a few moments before he properly came back into his body, his breathing evening out again, and he opened his eyes again. He turned his head to the side, and Sebastian was laying on the bed next to him, his hand wrapped around his cock. Jace's eyes moved over to Clary, who looked as though she had finished, her red underwear were soaked right through and her cheeks were flushed. She was watching both of them, her eyes resting on the couple on her bed, and when her eyes met Jace's, they were heated.

Jace shifted his attention to Sebastian, who was letting out grunts as he pulled at his cock. Jace rolled over and reached out tentatively. Sebastian was more than willing to let his hand fall to the side and allow Jace to take over. Jace was so focused on Sebastian, and how beautiful he looked with his blonde hair falling over his forehead, getting into his eyes, his lips parted and panting, that he didn't process Clary moving from where she had been watching, and getting onto the bed on the other side of Sebastian. While Jace continued to jack Sebastian off, Clary put her fingers underneath Sebastian's chin and turned his head so that she could kiss him.

It didn't take long before Sebastian came, moaning against Clary's lips and jerking under Jace's hands. The three of them shifted around, their breathing slowly syncing up with one anothers. Clary moved first, reaching for some tissues and handing them to Sebastian. Sebastian cleaned himself up and handed them back to Clary, and she tossed them on the ground. Jace licked his lips, swallowing hard, wondering if this was the part where he left. They had a big bed—big enough that they could all fit comfortable and sleep—but he wasn't sure if that was something that was on the cards.

Jace finally made the decision to make a move, beginning to roll off the bed, but Sebastian caught his wrist.

"Stay," he murmured, his eyes staring up at him imploring. He wasn't forcing him to stay, in the dim light of the lamp beside the bed, he could see that there was a question on Sebastian's face. Jace's eyes raised to look at Clary who just quirked her lips in a small smile, not really giving anything away, as she rolled over and turned off the lamp. There was still some light coming from the bathroom, but it was nothing that was going to keep them awake.

There was movement on the other side of Sebastian, Clary getting herself comfortable, and after a moment, Sebastian stretched out his arms, and Jace felt one of Sebastian's hand take his. It was a small gesture, but it was comforting, and while Jace thought that it might take him a while to go to sleep, he fell into a slumber almost instantly.

 _So usually this is the point where I tell you guys some movies and songs that I'm super into. Since this is my last post, I had some other things I wanted to say. But I did see the new_ Halloween _movie, and_ The House With A Clock In Its Walls _and_ Venom _, and they were all good, although Venom was a bit of a let down. Also, anyone else a GallaVich supporter? I stopped watching_ Shameless _a few seasons ago, when it started spiraling, but holy shit, tumblr when crazy with the reunion, and that totally made my day. It was amaaaazing. These two boys deserve each other, and I'm so glad they got a very...fitting send off :)_

 _Right, well..._

 _This year has been hard. I feel this year has been bad for everyone. There have been the numerous mass shootings, it feels as though there is just one natural disaster after another and there is the continual, completely legitimate distrust of authorities who are meant to be the ones protecting us. There are so many things that I could write in here and specifically comment on, but I don't want to make this a political statement, just a statement that wherever we are in the world, we are all struggling. There are so many people struggling at the moment, but today, my heart goes out to the people of Brazil, all people in the Jewish community and to the beautiful LGBTQA members of the world, especially the transgender community, and specifically those in America._

 _There have been good things as well, though! The rescue of the boys in Thailand, the proud, unapologetic statement that Colin Kaepernick's Nike campaign made, the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, the incredible organisation and unity in the March For Our Lives and the utter love and support shown by so many people in this world toward one another. This was just demonstrated yet again in the past few days with the non profit Muslim organisations who set up the online funding for those in the Jewish community affected by this one of the most recent horrific attacks._

 _This year has also been hard for myself personally, as I'm sure some of you are aware from my posts. My mental health is probably the worst it's ever been, I'm dealing with some relationship issues with my husband, I lost the friendship of someone that I considered very close after a betrayal that left me spinning and over the past few months, it's been the one year anniversary of the deaths of three people, who all died within a month of each other. I consider myself pretty open with you guys about my problems, and a big reason for that is because I know how lonely this huge world can feel sometimes. I just hope that with me putting myself out there, if you guys are dealing with something similar, then hopefully you know you're not alone. While I don't always have the best words, if any of you ever want to PM me just to get things off your chest, I'm here. I don't always know what to say, but sometimes just putting your problems into words can help, and I am more than happy to be that person for any of you xx_

 _Alright._

 _Well._

 _That was all very intense, but I felt it was necessary. I'm sorry if it felt as though I was crossing a line with any of it, but that's why I said at the top that if you didn't want to read all of this, just read by first authors note!_

 _Anyway._

 _I hope every single one of you has a safe and incredible and happy holidays with the people you love the most, and I will be back next year, probably early February. Here's to a better next year xx_


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, my beautiful, wonderful readers! It's early February, so as promised, here's an update! I hope you guys have had an amazing past few months, and I hope you're still interested in these stories! Just a quick heads up that I've uploaded some oneshots, and I do still have a couple to post, but I had so many requests to update my multi-chapters, so I thought I would update these before continuing with my editing, so there are some more to come!**

 **Anyway, here we go...**

Jace woke up slowly in the morning. He felt so completely sated, his muscles heavy and relaxed, and his eyelids fought to be open, so he let himself lay there, awake but with his eyes closed. The room was quiet, but there was breathing coming from someone other than himself. He didn't bother opening his eyes to begin with, his mind just processing that he must have gone home and brought someone back last night. His head was throbbing slightly, it was more just like an ache in the back of his skull, and he hoped that after he downed a couple of glasses of water and some ibuprofen, it would go away. He didn't get too drunk last night, and as he processed that, that was when the images from the _rest_ of last night came back, and he forced his eyes open, turning his head to the side.

Sebastian.

He looked gorgeous, his blonde hair in messy tufts around his head, his perfect, pink lips parted slightly and Jace was tempted to reach out his thumb to touch that cupids bow on his upper lip. Then Jace's golden eyes shifted down to Sebastian's torso, and then he saw an arm resting over Sebastian's waist, and then further down, Jace realized that a leg that was thrown over Sebastain's hips was also a slight weight against his own thigh as well.

Clary.

Jace lifted his head slightly so that he could see over Sebastian's head and he saw Clary. She looked...A bit of a mess, given she hadn't taken her make up off last night when they had gotten home from the club and then come straight to the bedroom. Her eye makeup was smudged around her eyes, but despite the fact that her red hair was a complete mess around her face and there were still some faint traces of the dark purple lipstick that she had been wearing, she still looked cute.

Sort of in the same way that a raccoon looked cute.

After a few minutes of quiet, Sebastian shifted, his eyes blinking a couple of times, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks before they opened fully and he was looking directly into Jace's eyes. Their noses were only a couple of inches apart, and Jace had to focus hard on keeping his lips pressed together, not wanting to blow morning breath all over Sebastian's face. His eyes were a little bleary, clearly because he had only just woken up, and they stared at each other for a long few moments, Jace wondering what Sebastian's reaction was going to be. He wondered if he was going to ask him to leave, maybe get upset that he was intruding on his Sunday morning with his girlfriend, but after a few beats, he gave him a small smile.

"How's your head?" Sebastian asked, his voice husky from sleep. Jace felt that—just the sound of Sebastian's gravelly voice—travel down his torso and make his morning erection pulse.

"It's okay," Jace replied. "I didn't get too drunk last night." Sebastian smiled, stretching his hands above his head, rolling over onto his back and arching it. Jace watched as the sheet slipped down further, until he got a peek at the muscular v-dip of his lower torso, and quickly lifted his eyes back up because he realized that Sebastian never put his briefs back on after their interlude last night. Just like Jace hadn't. Jace gulped, actually able to hear his own swallow, which made him wince, and he knew that his cheeks were pinking quickly. "Uh, I should go," he muttered, beginning to roll over, quickly trying to figure how he was going to grab his clothes and cover his ass as he got out of the bed.

"Why?" Sebastian asked, sounding honestly confused, and Jace paused, turning back to the blonde.

"Well, I mean..." Jace pursed his lips together. "This is a one time thing, right? So, I probably shouldn't drag this out." It hurt him to say that, but he really didn't want to get his hopes up. Sebastian licked his lips and shifted his head so that he was looking down at Clary. She was moving a little, to get more comfortable, and her leg shifted so that it was slightly more hitched up over Sebastian's thigh, and she made a soft noise in the back of her throat. She turned her face so that it was buried in Sebastian's chest, and her boyfriend smiled down at her.

"It doesn't have to be," Sebastian replied, his voice a little muffled against Clary's hair. Jace's eyes widened, eyebrows lifting at the utterance.

"You...You want this to happen again?" Jace asked, cursing himself inwardly at the way his voice caught. Sebastian nodded his head before stretching again, dislodging Clary, the red head rolling over and sighing in her sleep.

So they wanted to have sex again.

Or...Fool around, since they hadn't quite got to the sex point last night, at least not the _penetrative_ point.

Jace...Was pretty sure he wanted that.

If he was being completely honest, he wanted more than that, but at the moment, he would take what he could.

"I'm just gonna shower," Jace said quietly as Sebastian seemed to be making himself comfortable again, curling his body around his girlfriend. Jace didn't need to worry quite as much about trying to cover up his nakedness with Sebastian now facing the other way and Clary still fast asleep, but he still moved quickly, grabbing for his briefs and the jeans he was wearing last night. He pulled on the briefs and then found his shirt, and left the room quickly.

They hadn't cleaned up very well last night, and he still had some flaky dried cum on his lower stomach, and there was dried sweat on his back, making him feel a bit icky. He dumped his clothes in the washing basket in the corner of the room and then crossed to the bathroom, turning the shower and grabbing out a fresh towel as he waited for the shower to heat up to the right temperature. He closed the bathroom door firmly and stepped into the shower, closing his eyes as he stood underneath the shower head, water rushing down against his face.

Jace wasn't sure how long he stayed in the shower, but when he turned off the water, he could hear music playing quietly on the other side of the door. He scrubbed his towel over his head to partially dry his hair and then wrapped the towel around his waist. He stepped out of the bathroom and looked down the hall in the direction of the music, then turned his head to look toward the master bedroom.

The door was wide open, and Jace could see Clary was now alone in bed, still asleep. She had rolled onto her back and had her arms thrown above her head, and Jace was tempted to take a few steps down the hallway toward the bedroom, but he stopped himself and went to his bedroom. He dressed slowly, in sweatpants and thin white shirt, and hung his towel over his door before going out into the lounge. Sebastian had old music playing, a Linkin Park song that Jace used to play on repeat when he was in high school, and he was in the kitchen.

"Clary's gonna have an insane hangover when she wakes up," Sebastian laughed. "So I'm getting breakfast ready, and then painkillers, and then she's probably gonna go back to bed," he raised his eyebrows at Jace. "You want to jam some playstation when she does?"

"Um, yeah," Jace nodded, surprised by how normal their conversation was going. "Yeah, that'd be cool."

"Sweet," Sebastian grinned and turned back to the stove top where he was pushing scrambled eggs around in a frying pan. "Can you check on those hash browns? I think they're about ready to come up." Jace passed behind Sebastian to the deep fryer that was plugged in on the other side of the sink. Jace took off the lid and pulled up the basket, the hash browns looking golden and crispy.

"Shit," Jace muttered as he caught a whiff of the deep fried food.

"What?" Sebastian looked over at him.

"I just realized how hungry I was," Jace said, giving Sebastian a half smile and Sebastian grinned back.

"Good thing I made extra," Sebastian replied, and Jace saw that Sebastian had pulled out three plates and they were sitting on the bench, waiting to be filled. As Sebastian pulled out the toast and starting dishing out even amounts of scrambled eggs on each plate, Clary came into the kitchen. Jace's eyes widened as she watched the petite red head move to stand behind Sebastian, so as not to stop him from dishing up their breakfast, and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. She was wearing a pair of sleeping shorts that barely covered her ass and a baggy shirt. He was also pretty sure that she wasn't wearing a bra, but he tried to divert his eyes and not get too distracted by that.

"Morning," she mumbled against his back, her voice muffled.

"Morning, babe," Sebastian replied as he stretched across to empty the rest of the scrambled eggs on the furthest plate. Clary moved with him, wrapped around his torso like a limpet, and while with some couples it might have been sickening, it was kind of just cute when it was the pair of them. Jace averted his eyes when Sebastian turned to take the basket with the hash browns from the deep fryer in front of him, but his gaze lifted back to follow the pair of them as Sebastian dished them up. "Can you grab out the juice from the fridge?" Sebastian asked Jace off-handedly, and the other man nodded. "And how are you feeling this morning?" He asked, turning around in Clary's grip and cupped her face.

"Shit," she croaked out, and Sebastian laughed softly. She made a face at him. "You need to..." she winced and moved a hand from around his waist to wave it at his face. "Ssh."

"Is that any way to talk to the man who made you breakfast and has pain killers all ready for you?" Sebastian chided her gently and Clary just grumbled something unintelligible under her breath as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the mouth. Jace couldn't help but watch, and his eyes followed after Clary as she leaned away from her boyfriend, mainly on her mouth.

Now that he had had those soft lips against his once, he really wished that he had seized the opportunity he had been given last night and actually kissed her back harder.

"Morning, Jace," Clary mumbled, giving him a small smile as she walked back out of the kitchen. Jace watched as she opened up the sliding door and stepped outside, letting out a sigh of contentment as the cool breeze from outside wrapped around her aching head.

"Can you bring out the last plate and the juice?" Sebastian asked over his shoulder as he walked out to the balcony. Jace carried out the plate and juice as asked, and Sebastian made a trip back inside to get glasses and utensils and then brought those outside.

"Can you get me my sunglasses?" Clary asked as she winced up Sebastian. "Someone's turned the sun up fucking high this morning." Jace couldn't help but laugh at her description as Sebastian grabbed her sunglasses off the coffee table inside and brought them out, handing them over to Clary. She put them on, but still groaned pitifully as she uncovered her eyes and was faced with the morning sunlight. "It's so good out here with the breeze, but it's fucking bright as shit."

"Eat something, and then you can have painkillers," Sebastian reasoned.

"And then I'm going back to bed," Clary grumbled as she stabbed a hash brown with her fork, not bothering to cut it up. Sebastian gave Jace a knowing look, probably in reference to his earlier comment about Clary going straight back to bed. They ate in reasonable quiet, and Clary stopped eating every couple of minutes to take in a few deep breaths and lean forward to rest her head against the edge of the wooden table. Sebastian had an amused smile on his face as he cut off pieces of bacon and hash brown, but Jace didn't feel as at ease as the other two did.

Clary had been drunk last night.

Jace had known that she had been drinking last night, but he hadn't realized just how drunk she was. He had seen her with a few drinks but they had always been half full, because she had kept on disappearing to the dance floor.

Maybe she had a different view on what had happened last night.

Maybe she didn't feel the same way as Sebastian had.

In the short time that he had known Clary, she was pretty chill and seemed to go with the flow. But last night, Jace had gotten off with her boyfriend. And it had been right in front of her. At the time, she appeared to be completely okay with it, but if she was drunk, maybe she didn't totally consent to everything that happened the night before.

She definitely hadn't made any reference to it this morning.

"You guys can finish this," Clary mumbled, pushing forward her plate, which still had half her food on it.

"You sure?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know you always feel better after you eat."

"I know, I know," Clary sighed, running her fingers through her hair before folding her arms on the table top and then resting her forehead against her arms. "Oh my gooooood," she groaned out, her voice muffled, facing toward the ground. Jace winced sympathetically as he looked over at Sebastian, who just had an amused expression on his face, before he stabbed the last of her bacon with his fork.

"You know that you and vodka don't go well together," Sebastian stated as he offered half of the last hash brown to Jace, who just shook his head.

"Magnus always makes it sound so good, though," Clary whined pitifully and Sebastian let out a laugh, shaking his head. There was nothing mean in the way that he was teasing her lightly, it was just clear that this was something that he had gone through a lot with his girlfriend. She finally lifted her head and looked between Jace and Sebastian, although it was hard to figure out exactly what she was thinking because the fly-eye sunglasses that she was wearing obscured her eyes and half her face. "Alright, I'm gonna take those painkillers and then go back to bed. You guys finish off the food," a small smirk pulled up the corner of her mouth. "You guys might need the extra energy after last night."

Jace's cheeks flooded red and he ducked his head.

Well...At least he knew that she remembered what had happened last night, and the small smile on her face made it seem as though she was okay with it.

"I'll see you guys later," Clary murmured, circling around to where Sebastian was sitting, and he turned his face up to hers, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She shot Jace a small smile and then headed back into the house. Jace watched her go—walk first into the kitchen to throw back the painkillers and then head toward the hallway to go down to their bedroom—and couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that she hadn't given him a kiss as well.

Not that he had any _right_ to want another kiss from her, but he couldn't help but want a repeat of the pressure he had felt last night.

"So..." Sebastian began casually as he finished off the rest of his breakfast. "You want to get on the playstation now?" It was strange, just how easy things were right now, after everything that had happened last night. But Jace was glad.

"Yeah," Jace smiled with a nod. "Sounds good."

 **Right! So, here's the super, super long A/N—sorry! I had a great Christmas and New Years time, not really doing much, just spending time at the beach and with my husband and with some of best friends. This year has started well, there's been a few bad days, but hey, happens to everyone. I hope your year has started just as good, and you spent it with family and friends if that's what you prefer, and that you spent it alone and quiet if that's what you prefer.**

 **I wanted to say that I managed to get around to most of peoples oneshots, at least the ones that struck a chord with me because some of prompts just aren't the type that I can write, and I had fun with the ones I wrote! You can still send me prompts or requests through the year, and I try and get to them near the end of the year when I focus on oneshots. Can be in a huge variety of fandoms, just ask me :)**

 **On with the recommendations!**

 **TV Shows: _Roswell: New Mexico_. Well. I loooved the original series, even if I can see a lot of flaws in it when watching it now back to when I was a teenager. I'm enjoying the reboot so far, I really like the change up in Liz, and Michael's relationship with Alex. I love that Tyler Blackburn from Pretty Little Liars is in it, and Michael Trevino from Vampire Diaries, because he was one of my favourite characters from VD. Anyway. Fingers crossed it goes well. And I intensely ship Max/Liz already, and not because I know they're supposed to get together, but because I love their chemistry, which is more than the original series, at least for my side. Oh and _The Runaways_ Season 2! I liked Gert a lot more in this one. Ooh, and _Sex Education_. That show is absolutely brilliant. Like, insanely brilliant. I'm so glad it's been renewed for another season. I also started watching _The Following_ for the hundredth time because this show is amazing.**

 **Music: _6 Figures_ by Kings, _Run Away With Me_ by Carly Rae Jepsen, _Old News_ by Mitch James, _Wasted_ by Jesse McCartney and _Bad_! by XXXTENTACION. Ooh, and _Saturday Nights_ by Khalid, _Bury A Friend_ by Billie Eilish and _Wild Enough_ by Elina.**

 **Movies: _Tomb Raider_ , which I watched for the second time the other week and I quite enjoyed it, a lot more than the first time I watched it. Alicia Vikander is a babe. Also _How To Train Your Dragon 3_. Holy shit. I knew this one was going to get me in the feels, but I didn't expect to cry twice. It was beautiful. Also the new _Robin Hood._ Maybe I'm biased because I love Taron Egerton, but I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as what the reviews said. I know it wasn't great, but I still enjoyed it, and Marian was a badass.**

 **Now, I've got some questions! Thought I'd change things up a little this year.**

 **So; what is your favourite song right now? Mine would be a tie between _Run Away With Me_ by Carley Rae Jepsen and _Back To Life_ by Hailee Steinfield.**

 **What is...Your favourite movie that you've seen recently? Mine would be _Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse_.**

 **Aaaand what is your favourite fandom to read in? For me it would be a tie between the DC fandom and _Harry Potter_ right now, although it changes frequently.**

 **Talk to me, let me know what you thought and answer the questions if you feel inclined to!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, beauties! I'm back for the second update of the year! Sorry, I meant for it to be sooner, but I have had a fucking full on past six weeks or so. There's been quite a few big events that have happened, a couple not to so great, but things are balancing back out. The biggest thing was a high speed car crash that me and my husband were in, but luckily, no one was hurt too badly. There were good things too, though, I've been to a few concerts, the highlights were Eminem and Drax Project. I think this is the first weekend I feel back on my feet, so I though it was the time to update!**

 **I hope everyone's start of the year is going well, and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

Jace was halfway through his day at work when his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He didn't feel or hear it the first time, given Jem was giving them an excellent rendition of _Roar_ by Katy Perry, complete with the dance moves which involved crawling around on the dirty floor like a tiger, and it wasn't until it buzzed again that he reached for it absentmindedly. He was laughing as Jem began to paw at Sebastian, trying to get him sing along with him, when the smile froze on his face as he saw the name on his screen.

It was a name that hadn't come up on his phone for quite some time.

Kaelie.

 _We should meet up. I'm only in the city for another couple of days._

Jace's thumb froze over the screen as he read her message. He re-read the message a couple of times, and in the end, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and went back to working on the engine of the Lexus that had been brought in. He could hear the guys laughing around him, especially as Jem got even louder with his singing, and part of him wished that he could join in with their fun, like he had been before, but now his mind was completely elsewhere.

He wondered if he should meet up with her. He wondered if he should even _reply_ to the message.

They hadn't had any contact since they had broken up, and other than glimpses her as he walked past a coffee house back in New York, Saturday night was the first time that he had seen her since they had broken up. Since he had found out that she was actually sleeping with one of her fathers interns and _also_ a law student while he was under the impression that they were an exclusive couple.

His thoughts shifted to Sebastian and Clary, and the events that had occurred later on in the evening after he had seen Kaelie at the club. The kiss that he had shared with Clary, and the whole lot more that he had shared with Sebastian. It had been incredible, everything that had happened once they had all gotten home. And then there had been Clary, in the corner of the room, and those bright red underwear that she had been wearing.

They shouldn't change his mind.

They shouldn't be a factor.

He wasn't _dating_ Sebastian or Clary.

If he met up with Kaelie, he wouldn't be betraying them.

"Hey, Jace!" He didn't even realize that Sebastian had been calling out to him, waving a hand in front of Jace's face to try and get his attention.

"Shit, worry," Jace blinked at Sebastian, and realized that Jon was looking in their direction as well. "What's up?"

"We're gonna go to the diner for lunch, the one down the road. You coming?" Sebastian asked, and that was when Jace also realized that they were all getting out of their overalls and Jem was in the corner, washing his hands.

"Uh," Jace just wanted to work. "Nah, I'm fine." Sebastian looked surprised at the answer, and his brow furrowed.

"You sure?" Sebastian asked, tipping his head to the side and frowning.

"Yeah, I'm good," Jace reassured him before looking back at the engine, hoping that Sebastian didn't make a thing about it. In all honesty, he wasn't _that_ hungry anyway, but he also just felt like he needed a bit of space to think things through right now. "Just don't feel like eating right now."

"Alright," Sebastian shrugged, and even though he didn't look totally convinced, he didn't say anything else.

"We'll bring you something back," Jem clapped his hand down on Jace's shoulder as he passed him. "See you soon!" Jace grunted out a goodbye and went back to working. He tried not to think about the text message from his ex-girlfriend. He plugged his phone into the stereo and switched to a loud rock song, that bounced off the walls of the garage, and helped to distract him as he worked.

Nearly half an hour had passed and Jace knew that the boys would be back soon.

He picked up his phone and text Kaelie back.

 _Okay. I'll text you later, we can meet up for dinner._

* * *

The house smelt incredible when Sebastian and Jace got home that evening. Cissy was perched on the outside table as the two boys parked up their bikes and began walking toward the house, and she looked as though she didn't want to leave her perch, her nose twitching in the air at the smell of dinner, as they approached. But, of course, as they got closer, she gave them a nasty look and flounced off, disappearing into the house and down the hallway.

"Hey, baby," Sebastian called into the house as he toed off his shoes and walked in.

"Hey," Clary called back from the kitchen. She had the TV on, and it was on the music channel, playing throwback hits of the early two thousands. Jace followed Sebastian into the house a bit slower, giving the couple a chance to kiss and greet each other before he popped his head into the kitchen. His plan was to tell them that he wasn't staying for dinner, but as Sebastian walked back out of the kitchen, calling out that he had dibs on the first shower, and Jace stopped in the kitchen doorway, his plans changed. "Hey!" Clary flashed him a grin over her shoulder. "How was work?"

"Uh..." Jace was rendered completely wordless as stared at the red head, who was cutting up slices of ciabatta bread on a chopping board. Clary glanced over her shoulder when she didn't get a response from him and gave him a questioning look. "Uh—yeah! It was good!"

"That's good," Clary flashed him a smile as she turned back around. She had a little tub that was filled with garlic butter that she started spreading over the ciabatta slices. "Oh—" she seemed to click on what it was that had thrown Jace through a loop when he had first come in. "I hope you don't mind this—" she waved one of her hands at her torso. "—You left it on the couch and I always find guys hoodies more comfortable." Jace just nodded and gave her a strained smile before ducking out of the kitchen.

She was wearing a pair of shorts, which Jace only glimpsed under the long hoodie that she had been wearing.

 _His_ hoodie.

Jace knew that there was just something stupidly primal about seeing someone else in his clothing, it was ridiculous how much it turned him on. So he quickly left the room and escaped to his bedroom. Sebastian was in the shower currently, but he never took very long, and that was a good thing, because Jace already felt the need for a cold shower.

As soon as Jace heard Sebastian coming out of the bathroom, he went in, grabbing a towel from the hot water cupboard in the hall as he went. He showered quickly, waiting for himself to calm down before he turned the temperature back up. After he got out, he could hear Sebastian and Clary talking, the music was turned down to just a soft murmur in the background. He got dressed slowly and picked up his phone from where he had tossed it when he had come into his bedroom. There was a message from Kaelie, asking what time they were going to be, and where they were meeting.

"Dinners ready!" Came Clary's call from the kitchen, and the decision was made in a split second. He sent off a reply to Kaelie.

 _Something's come up. Won't be able to meet, sorry._

He really wasn't all that sorry, but it seemed like the polite thing to say. It's just...Clary and Sebastian were in the next room, and the dinner smelt amazing, and Clary was wearing his hoodie.

"This smells incredible," Jace said as he walked into the dining room area.

"Of course it does," Clary smirked as she handed him a bottle of orange juice and pointed to the picnic table. Sebastian was already carrying knives and forks, and then Clary walked out with two plates loaded with food. "One of you guys want to grab the last plate?" Clary suggested as she put down the two plates she was carrying onto the table and then sat down on one of the wooden seats.

"I'll grab it," Sebastian said as he went back into the house. Cissy let out a meow as she curled her way around the legs of Clary's chair and then bounced up on her two back feet, resting her front paws on Clary's thigh.

"Hey, sweet girl," Clary murmured as she reached down and scratched between Cissy's ears. Cissy meowed again and then immediately bolted when Sebastian came back out of the house carrying the last plate. It looked like she had done a lamb roast, with roast veges and home made garlic bread.

Dinner was good, and the whole environment just made Jace want to stay. After they ate, they did the dishes, Clary standing in the doorway with a glass of wine in her hand while Sebastian washed and Jace dried. It felt so normal, sort of like a family, and afterwards they moved into the lounge. Jace spread out on the couch that ran along one wall and Sebastian sat down in one of the arm chairs, his legs spread, knees apart, and Jace couldn't help the way his eyes strayed between the other mans legs before he dropped them to where Clary had chosen to sit on the carpeted floor beside Sebastian's feet, her legs stretched out in front of her.

"Alright, so we've got... _Baby Driver_ ooooooor..." Clary was flicking through the iPad in front of her, finding a movie that she wanted to watch. "Or _Wind River_ ," she chose, and tilted her head all the way back, almost tipping it upside down as she looked back at Sebastian.

" _Wind River_ ," Sebastian chose before looking over at Jace. Jace answered a few beats late, given he was staring at the long expanse of Clary's neck that was exposed with the way that she was looking back at her boyfriend.

"Uh, yeah," he hadn't actually heard of either movie, but he didn't really care. Just being with them, feeling the warmth from their bubble was enough to make him happy. He was trying to stop himself from feeling that way, because this wasn't _his_ , they weren't _his_ , and he couldn't let himself get muddled up into thinking that he could be a part of what they had with each other.

"Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch," Clary said with a grin as she queued up the movie and streamed it to the TV.

"Huh?" Sebastian grunted from his seat.

"It's got Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner in it," Clary explained as she wiggled around on the floor and tipped her head back, bumping it against Sebastian's knee. The movie started, and from the way that Jace was was sprawled out on the couch, with his feet pointing toward the wall where the TV and the door to the hallway, he was directly facing the TV, and would have to turn his head to keep on looking at the couple that were across from him, which is sort of what he wanted to do, from time to time. He shifted in his spot, shoving the cushions underneath his head, so that he was partially facing the couple, but mainly toward the TV.

The movie was good, although Jace wasn't paying much attention. He was actually really tired, didn't realize it until he forced himself to stop overthinking and rest. It was getting darker outside, and Sebastian got up at some point to close the sliding door and pull the curtains closed.

He heard them talking about another movie, but he was half asleep. He was a little on the cold side, but then Cissy jumped up, and after regarding him with devilish green eyes, she curled up at his side. Another movie started, and it must have been close to eight o'clock, and Jace couldn't believe how tired he was, but then he was falling asleep again. His eyes opened a few more times, and he saw The Rock on screen, wearing bright red swimming shorts, and the hot chick from the Percy Jackson films was there as well, but then he fell back to sleep.

The next time his eyes opened, the movie was still playing, but it looked as though it was drawing to an end. There was a thin blanket over him now, and Jace idly wondered which one out of Clary and Sebastian had put it over him. He was warm and comfy, still half propped up on the couch, completely nestled into the cushions. Cissy was no longer there, and Jace's eyes began to close his eyes and roll over when he heard it.

It wasn't very loud, and the movie was still playing and it was turned up reasonably loud, which is why Jace hadn't first heard it.

Panting.

Sighing.

Skin on skin.

From the way that Jace was laying, he only had to tilt his head ever so slightly backwards so that he could see Clary and Sebastian.

He got hard in his pants almost immediately.

Clary was on Sebastian's lap, and while it was clear they were trying to keep their noise down, it wasn't completely silent. Clary had her legs on either side of Sebastian's legs, and she had her shorts and underwear hooked around one of her ankles. She was still wearing his hoodie, but it was hitched up around her stomach and Sebastian had his arm around her waist, his hand splayed out over her belly.

"Fuck...Fuck... _Seb_ ," Clary was mumbling, and her body was rising and falling limply, letting Sebastian completely control her movements. Her legs were spread wide, and Jace really, _really_ wanted to turn his head and get a proper look at her, but he didn't want them to know he was awake.

"Ssh, baby," Sebastian murmured as he thrust up into her, making her moan and shiver. Jace didn't think he had ever got this hard so quickly in his whole life. Clary's moans started getting higher in pitch, and from experience, Jace knew that meant she was close to coming. Jace couldn't help but jerk his hips forward, and as soon as he did it, he bit down on his lip, hoping that they hadn't noticed, hoping that they wouldn't stop.

"I'm gon—I'm gonna—" Clary's words were stuttered, and Jace was biting down so hard on his lip that he was worried it might bleed.

"Come on, baby," Sebastian urged her softly. "You going to come all over my cock? And over Jace's hoodie?" That caught Jace off guard and he jerked again, his fingers curling into a fist under the blanket. "Do you wish he was awake? Awake and watching you?" Clary let out a gasp and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her moving with Jace, her feet trying to find purchase on the ground so that she could bring herself down harder on Jace.

"Shit, shit—" Clary let out a groan, and Jace could imagine what she felt like around Sebastian's cock, tight and warm, spilling down the sides of his cock.

Maybe getting some of her juices on Jace's hoodie as it kept falling back down.

Sebastian let out a guttural moan a few moment later, and Jace lifted his chin ever so slightly so that he he could see Sebastian's face, his head thrown back as he orgasmed and his fingers tightening on Clary's hips. He tried not to open his eyes fully, the lids half closed, but he wanted to see the whole picture, take it all in. So he let his eyes open up a little more, staring at Sebastian, and felt a hot shock go through his body as Sebastian tipped his head forward, meeting his eyes.

He knew that Jace was awake.

Maybe Clary did as well.

And they had still had sex.

"I'm ready for bed," Clary sighed, and Sebastian's gaze shifted, to his girlfriend.

"Alright, babe," Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. They shifted, Clary getting off Sebastian and picking up her shorts and underwear from where they had fallen on the floor. Sebastian got off the chair, pulling his pants up and tucking his cock back inside. Clary left the room first, and Jace got a full look at her pert ass, his hoodie still pulled up a bit around her waist. Sebastian started walking after her, but he paused in front of the TV to turn it off, plunging the room into the darkness. Jace shifted his position on the couch, his cock aching against the pants he was wearing, already planning on walking quickly down to his bedroom once they had both gone into their own room and getting himself off. Sebastian paused at the doorway, though, and even in the darkness he saw the gleam of his eyes in the darkness. "Night, Jace," he said softly.

 **Down to my recommendations! _AM_ by One Direction, which I will always love. _Chasing Ghosts_ by Against The Current, _How Could I Forget_ by MKTO, _Woke Up Late_ by Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfield, and _Leave Me Lonely_ by Hilltop Hoods. Also _Cosby Sweater_ by Hilltop Hoods. An _Whatchamacallit_ by Ella Mai featuring Chris Brown. Ooh, and also _Before I Go_ by Guy Sebastian, which was suggested to me by a guest, and I love, so a big thank you to that guest!**

 **In the TV series/movies area...Hm, _Tidelands_ which is on Netflix. I really enjoyed that, and I hope there's a second season. _Body Guard_ , even though my husband now randomly shouts out, " _Vicky! I'm innocent!"_ at the most inappropriate time. _Queen of the South_ which is absolutely incredible. Holy shit incredible and recommended to all. _Umbrella Academy_ as well, my holy trinity is Klaus, Diego and Ben. Loved them. I have incredibly mixed feelings about Vanya and Luthur can suck a dick. Haven't seen many movies recently, although I'm in the middle of _Molly's Game_ right now and it's pretty good. I preferred _Miss Sloane_ , but this is still good.**

 **Now, down to my questions...**

 **Well, well, well.**

 **Okay—what is the first song you remember learning? Not _Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_ or the _ABC's_ or anything, but the first pop or rock song. Mine was _Who Let The Dogs Out._ Hahahaha. I came home from school one day singing it when I was about five or six, and my parents didn't believe me until it came on the radio.**

 **Who is someone that you would love to see in concert? I have so many, but I think the ones at the top would be The Pretty Reckless, In This Moment, Camila Cabello, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga and Louis Tomlinson.**

 **And...Hm...Who is a celebrity that you have changed your mind about? Either you really liked and now you don't, or didn't like and now you do? Mine would be Bella Thorne, I used to find her really annoying and a bit trashy, but now I love her, including all her trashiness. And I used to really like Chris Pratt, and now I really don't.**

 **Okay!**

 **Let me know what you think, and let me know if you want a preview xx**


	22. Chapter 22

**I actually had not realized how many movie days I'd written for these three o_O. My bad. It's just because that's my favourite thing to do in the weekend. Lol.**

Jace was pretty sure he had never jerked off this much in his life, at least since he had turned fifteen and started a sexual relationship with someone other than his hand. Two weeks had gone by since the night they had all gone out to the club opening and come back and all ended up in Clary and Sebastian's bed, and just under two weeks since Jace had fallen asleep on the couch and seen Sebastian and Clary having sex. Every night he had intense dreams of being fucked by Sebastian, or fucking Clary, or being in the middle of the tangled limbs of both of them, and he would wake up and his cock would be throbbing inside his sweatpants. And then he would get home after a day of fixing cars and watching Sebastian strip down to a singlet and get all sweaty, and Clary would be freshly showered and wearing a tiny pair of sleeping shorts and a thin shirt, oversized shirt that was usually Sebastian's but sometimes Jace's. So then he would need to jerk off in the shower to thoughts of both of them. And then there was night time, when Jace would occasionally hear them having sex, the moans and sighs. Which would be when he would jerk off for a third time in a day.

It wasn't really like things had changed all that much between the three of them, there was just more...Touching.

Sebastian had always been tactile, and Jace got the impression that Clary was like that as well, but had been holding back because she wasn't too sure where the boundaries were with Jace. Sebastian didn't hold back at _all_ , checking Jace with his hip, reaching out and touching his shoulder with his fingers, sitting close to him on the couch so that they were pressed against each other from thigh all the way to shoulder. It wasn't anything _explicit_ , but it definitely sent a hundred sexual thoughts through Jace's head.

But nothing else was happening.

Hardly any time had gone by, in the grand scheme of things, he knew that two weeks wasn't really any time at all, but he still wasn't sure what was going on and it felt as though it had been _forever_. He still didn't know if it was just a one off thing, and they were moving on with their lives, or if something more was going to happen. He guessed that he should just be happy that things weren't awkward between any of them, because there was always that risk when friends slept together.

But Jace couldn't help but wish he could get some sign from one of them, to let them know where their heads were at.

"Do you have any plans this weekend?" Clary asked as she came out of the kitchen, a bottle of beer in her hand as she sat down on the couch and stretched out her legs.

"Uh," Jace glanced over at her before focusing back on the television screen where he was playing playstation. "Not really. Why's that?"

"Just wondering," Clary smiled at him as she looked toward the TV. Sebastian had gone out to get dinner in Clary's car, there was apparently some Italian place that Clary had been craving for for a while now, and so it was just the two of them while they waited for him to come back. Jace smashed his thumb down on the buttons of the controller and Clary let out a snort as Jace cried out in frustration as he died. "Oh, sweetie," Clary said pityingly, shaking her head as she put down the wine glass on the coffee table and held out her hand for the controller. Jace had been trying to get past this particular boss on _Destiny_ for a while now, and Clary had just been watching in amusement.

"You think you've got this?" Jace asked with a lift of his eyebrow.

"I _know_ I've got this," Clary said smugly as her fingers worked over the joystick and buttons. "You told Seb that you only just started playing this a few months ago, right?"

"Only since I moved out here, actually," Jace replied, keeping his eyes on the screen do distract himself from the adorable way that she stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. "I didn't really have the time to play playstation when I was living back at home." It felt weird to call New York his home, when this felt more like home than anywhere else he had lived.

"Well..." Clary suddenly started pressing a series of combinations on the controller, and Jace's eyes widened in surprise as the boss collapsed in a broken heap. "Take some tips from the pro," she grinned as she tossed the controller back at him and picked up her wine glass. "Don't just hit any button. Doesn't work like that." Jace rolled his eyes at her, but couldn't stop his laugh.

"Do you play often with Seb?" Jace asked, looking for something to talk to her about, preferring to actually speak with her than play the game. Clary let out a snort.

"Oh, I _definitely_ play with Seb often," she teased him and Jace rolled his eyes again as he realized how she had twisted his words. "But, yeah. And my brother. It used to be the only way I could get him to pay any attention to me when I was back in high school. He used to let me play, but I never realized it was just so I could heal him every time he died, so it didn't matter that I was totally shit."

"So you got better at it, just to spite him?" Jace guessed.

"Something like that," Clary said with a grin. She opened her mouth to continue, but then they heard the sound of her car in the driveway and she let out a cheer. "Food!" She cried out as she got off the couch and skipped out the door. Jace quickly moved on to the next save spot in the game and then flicked off the TV as Clary and Sebastian came into the lounge.

"Smells good," Jace noted as he got up from the couch and went into the kitchen to get plates and cutlery.

"This place as food that is sent from the _gods_ ," Clary breathed out as she began pulling cartons out of the plastic bags that Sebastian had put down on the coffee table. "And they do this berry cheesecake—holy shit, I kid you not—it's the best fucking thing that you ever tasted." Sebastian snorted as he emptied out the second plastic bag, and treated one particular box with special care as he put it to the side.

"I swear she enjoys that cheesecake more than sex," Sebastian noted off-handedly and Clary snorted.

"Well, I feel like that's an unfair comparison," she noted with a grin.

"Because the cheesecake would win?" Sebastian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because the cheesecake would win," Clary let out a laugh and leaned over to give Sebastian a quick kiss on the mouth before grabbing one of the cushions off the couch and tucked it underneath her to be more comfortable on the wooden, outdoor chairs. Jace put down the plates and cutlery on the table and sat down on the edge of the couch. Sebastian dished out the food and Clary was making all sorts of moaning noises as she picked up a fork and began twirling it through the seafood carbonara on her plate. Jace raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Sebastian, who was just shaking his head and grinning down at his own food.

They ate in relative silence, Cissy coming in from outside to rub up against Clary for a few minutes and scavenge some food off her plate, before hissing at the two boys and making a break for the door.

"Alright," Clary said after they had finished eating and opened up the box that Sebastian had set aside with care when they had first been unpacking the food. "The moment of truth. If you don't like this cheesecake, I swear to god, you're out on the street," she looked so completely serious that Jace was actually slightly worried for a moment as Sebastian got clean bowls and then dished out the cheesecake. The slices were huge, and all eyes were on Jace as he slid his spoon through the dessert.

"I feel like this is initiation or something," Jace said jokingly as he looked between the two, and Sebastian just grinned back while Clary raised an eyebrow, her expression still dead set.

"It is," she told him. "I take my cheesecake _very_ seriously." Jace's smile dropped and he glanced toward Sebastian who just rolled his eyes. Jace put the spoon in his mouth, and it turned out that there was really no problem at all, because Clary was completely right, it was the best thing that he had ever tasted.

"Holy fuck," he breathed and Clary let out a cheer.

"Good," she grinned and picked up her own bowl and spoon and began digging into the cheesecake. Sebastian laughed and started on his own one.

"I feel like we should have a movie day tomorrow," Clary said once they had finished, and were all clearing away the dishes and rubbish. "I feel like that should actually just become a staple in our life. I feel like this should be the only thing we ever do in weekends. It seems to be a routine since Jace has gotten here," she winked at Jace in a way that made him smile.

"But _you_ don't get to choose the movie!" Sebastian quickly interjected and there was a shout of protest from Clary.

"Hey! I have _great_ taste in movies!" Clary cried as she got up from the table and followed her boyfriend inside, Jace trailing after them with the last of the plates from the table. He couldn't help the way his eyes drifted downward over Clary's long, bare legs, not really listening to what either of them were saying. Clary flopped down on the couch, her bottle of beer in one hand and tucking her legs up, underneath her. Jace was zoned out of the conversation, gentle banter over what movies they were going to watch tomorrow. He went into the kitchen to load the dishwasher with the plates they had used and when he came back into the room, Sebastian was sitting on the couch beside Clary, his arm around her. They were talking quietly, and Sebastian had this soft smile on his face as he leaned forward and dropped a soft kiss to the tip of Clary's nose.

It looked like an intimate moment between them, and Sebastian was running his fingers over Clary's shoulder, and they both had such warm looks on their faces that Jace felt like he was intruding.

He also felt a little jealous, wanting to be a part of that.

"Uh, guys? I was actually going to head over to Alec and Magnus' for a few hours?" Jace began, walking over to where his shoes were lined up by the door. Clary and Sebastian didn't look upset at being interrupted, they just gave him questioning looks.

"Are you sure? We were going to watch re-runs of _My Kitchen Nightmares_ and laugh at Gordon Ramsey making people cry?" Clary grinned up at him as she took a sip from her beer. Jace was tempted to stay, but he wanted some space. His head was still feeling a bit cloudy, and his heart was aching just a little after seeing the two of them cuddling, and it was probably best for him to get away for a bit.

"Nah, I promised Alec that I would go over for a bit tonight after dinner," Jace gave them a small smile. It was a lie, but he had intended to go and see his cousin at some point this weekend.

"Alright," Sebastian picked up the remote from the table and wiggled around, making himself comfortable on the couch, one arm still tucked around Clary. "Well, our exciting Friday night will be right here waiting for you when get back." Jace flashed them a quick smile before picking his keys up from the coffee table, next to Clary's phone, and headed out the front door. He walked quickly to his bike, but paused as he picked up his helmet.

He definitely had feelings for both of them.

And he _definitely_ hoped that their night together wasn't just a one off.

But he didn't know what was happening, and he just needed a night to regroup and let his heart settle back down in his chest.

* * *

Jace ended up spending the night at Alec and Magnus' place, crashing on the couch. He hadn't planned on staying, but Magnus made an amazing lemon meringue pie for dessert and then he had gone to bed early because he needed to work the next morning, so Jace and Alec had stayed up late talking. He woke up the next morning to Magnus' mother and grandmother fussing over him, saying that a grown man like him shouldn't be sleeping on a couch, and then they had made him a breakfast that he couldn't say no to. It was almost lunch time before Jace got on his bike and started back to Sebastian and Clary's.

It was a dreary day, probably the first overcast day that Jace had seen since he got to Los Angeles. Just as he was pulling into the driveway of Sebastian and Clary's place, rain drops started to fall. He made it inside just as it starting raining more steadily, and as he stumbled through the door, he almost tripped over Sebastian and Clary.

"Shit—sorry!" Jace apologized as he quickly backed up.

"It's fine," Sebastian laughed as he nudged Clary. They had brought the mattress back out to the lounge, just like they had after their night out, and Jace instantly recognized the second _Star Wars_ film playing on the TV. "We're having a _Star Wars_ marathon. You in?" Jace considered it for a moment, but he already knew that he was going to be climbing onto the mattress and pulling the blanket over him before he opened his mouth.

"We doing them in chronological order? Or the order they came out?" Jace asked as he toed off his shoes.

"Chronological," Clary piped up. "Come on, get comfy. We're gonna order in pizza for lunch." Jace wasn't too sure what side to get in on—Sebastian or Clary's. Sebastian made the decision for him, shuffling over to make room for him, his arm tightening around the red head as she moved around to make herself comfortable. Jace felt tense to begin with, his mind flicking back to the other night, when they were in this very room, and the couple had been on the arm chair that was directly behind him.

Clary...Riding Sebastian, facing outwards...Sighing out her boyfriends name... _And his_.

"You good?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow at Jace, who jerked his head in a nod. He tried to force himself to calm down, but his breathing wouldn't even out, especially when Sebastian moved himself further down so he was laying flat on the mattress, alongside Clary, with his head propped up on pillows, and his leg pressed hard up against Jace's.

He wanted this.

But he wanted it _with answers_.

Jace swallowed hard and tried to push down his frustration and confusion. He just needed to accept what had happened and enjoy what he could.

Clary got up to put in a blu-ray disc of _Revenge of the Sith_ and Jace pursed his lips as he realized that she was only wearing a pair of underwear and a long shirt. The shirt probably came halfway down her thighs, but it was hitched up over one hip so that both Jace and Sebastian could see her curved ass, that was only scantily covered by pink and grey striped underwear with a light pick lace trim. Jace tried to divert his eyes, but it was almost impossible, especially when she leaned forward slightly to slip the disc into the playstation. When she turned around to come back, she barely glanced at him before crawling back between the blankets and wrapping an arm around Sebastian.

The back of her hand brushed against Jace's arm and he forced himself not to move.

It was somewhere through _A New Hope_ that Clary fell asleep with soft snores.

It was partway through _Empire Strikes Back_ that Jace dozed off, his head resting on Sebastian's shoulder.

 **I've written this about four times now, and I'm just going to keep it simple.**

 **On the 15th of March 2019, there was a terrorist attack in my beautiful country, New Zealand. This is the first ever mass shooting on this level during peace time in the beautiful islands that I have spent my whole life in.**

 **This doesn't happen here. We don't have mass shootings. We don't have a fear of one another to the point where it drums up anger that turns to hate.** **In the words of our absolutely incredible Prime Minister, " _They are us_."**

 **We are all one people, and we can't let hate win.**

 **I hope you all spend time with people that you love and cherish, and I hope you never hold back to show this.**

 **Arohanui and Kia Kaha x**


	23. Chapter 23

The three barely moved from the mattress. They ordered in pizza, and there were bathroom breaks, and then they all took turns getting up and going to shower, but other than that, they were all on the mattress. Clary slept a lot of the time, and sometimes she would make these little snuffling noises that were almost like snores, but not quite. Once or twice she let out an especially loud noise, and Jace and Sebastian would exchange looks with grins on their faces, but it wasn't in a mocking way.

It was definitely in an adoring way.

Jace didn't even process the time, or the fact that he and Clary were up until nearly three in the morning watching the second _Lord of the Rings_ film when Sebastian blearily blinked his eyes and told them both to turn off the TV. Then Clary had wiggled down and rolled over, so that she was spooning Sebastian, and Sebastian rolled over so that his body was turned toward Jace. Jace had hesitated, wondering if he should leave, go to his own room. That would probably be the smart thing to do, the thing that would stop him from being completely confused the next day. But Sebastian had reached out gripped his shirt, tugging at it gently until he laid down as well. Sebastian curved his body gently around Jace's—not close enough that they were touching, but close enough that Jace knew Sebastian was _right there_.

He thought that the twisting and churning in his stomach would keep him awake for all hours, but he actually fell asleep quickly, lulled into unconsciousness by the regular breathing of the two others in the room with him.

Jace woke up and he was alone on the mattress, but Clary was sitting up on the couch beside the mattress, and he could hear Sebastian in the kitchen.

"You hungry?" Clary asked in a soft voice, and he rubbed his hand over his face and smacked his lips together. There was a sharp smell that hit him as his senses all began working again after waking up, and he looked toward Clary, realizing that she was painting her toe nails. "Seb was just going to do some scrambled eggs."

"Sounds good," Jace said, his voice croaky. Clary stared at him for a beat, a look in her green eyes, before she nodded and called out to Sebastian, telling him to put on a few more pieces of toast. "I'm just gonna go and..." he took in a deep breath and waved down at himself. "Get changed into something else." Clary's eyes drifted down over his body as he pushed down the blankets, and he flushed when he realized that with the way his sweatpants were twisted, his morning erection was _very_ obvious. He escaped to his bedroom, taking in a few deep breaths and changing shirts and waited for his cock to soften before he crossed to the bathroom where he splashed some cold water on his face. When he came back out to the lounge, Clary was finished painting her toes, and had her feet resting on the arm of the arm chair.

They had breakfast together, a slight breeze coming in from the open door and the morning sun warming the lounge. For some reason, they all ended up on the one couch, and their knees bumped against each other every couple of minutes as they finished watching the movie that Clary had started, and when Sebastian shifted position, his fingers ended up resting on Jace's thigh. After breakfast and the movie, Clary went outside to do some gardening while Sebastian said that he had promised her for a while that he would fix a leak in the sink, so he disappeared into the kitchen. Jace wasn't too sure what he was meant to do, so he tidied up the lounge, dragging the mattress back down to Sebastian and Clary's room. He tried not to spend too long in there, other than hastily making their bed, because he didn't want to think what happened in this bedroom. What had happened while _he_ had been in there.

Or, he _did_ want to think about it, but only when he was alone and knew that he wasn't going to be interrupted.

It was late afternoon before all of them were in the house once again. Clary was sweaty and there were streaks of dirt on her face and legs, and so she had a shower first. She didn't come back out into the lounge once she was done, and Sebastian ended up heading down toward the bathroom after the sound of the shower had been stopped for a while. He didn't come back either, and Jace stayed in the lounge for a while, wondering if he should stay where he is, or if it would be safe to ventue down the hallway. The shower had stopped running a while ago, so he was guessing Sebastian was probably done, so he headed down. The door for the room at the end of the hall—Sebastian and Clary's room—was wide open. He couldn't see Sebastian, but he could see Clary, and she was smoothing out the covers of the bed and rearranging the pillows, with only a towel wrapped around her torso. She glanced up and saw him looking at her, and he quickly dropped his eyes as he headed to his room to grab a change of clothes and a towel, and then crossed to the bathroom.

He didn't shower long. He didn't usually shower for a long time anyway, but there was just something in his stomach that was tugging him, telling him to move along quickly. Jace got out of the shower and dried off himself, pulling on the thin pair of sweatpants that he had grabbed from his room. He hadn't got a shirt, and he was walking out of the bathroom, scrubbing at his hair with the towel, drying the shaggy, golden mop, and then stopped halfway across the hallway when his eyes strayed back to the bedroom at the end of the hall.

Sebastian and Clary were kissing.

The door was partially closed, but not enough to block Jace's view of the pair of them on the table, and Sebastian wasn't wearing anything as though he had gotten distracted after he had undressed for a shower. He was straddling Clary, who was laying back on the bed, and Jace's mouth went dry as he took in the blonde mans bare ass. Clary must have shuffled back a little because Jace caught a glimpse of her red hair coming more into view as she moved up on the bed. Sebastian moved as well, almost fully to one side, and Clary saw past Sebastian's shoulders and directly at Jace.

For a moment, Jace wasn't sure what her reaction was going to be, because her face was carefully expressionless. But then her lips tipped upward slightly in a smile, and she lifted one hand, crooking her finger in a small, subtle gesture.

To join them.

Jace felt like he was completely rooted to the spot for a few long minutes, and Clary's eyes closed as Sebastian leaned back down, and he could imagine him kissing her, sucking at her neck, biting on her tender skin. And then it was like his feet were being completely controlled by something other than him, and he was walking down the hallway, to their room.

Clary still had the towel wrapped very loosely around her petite figure, but it was falling open at her chest, and the hem was pushed right up her thighs, and it was going to open up fully at any moment now, with the way she was rolling her body upward, and then her body was going to be on full display. Her eyes opened again as he stepped into the room silently, and she pulled away from Sebastian. Her boyfriend stopped and from where Jace was standing, it sounded as though he might have mouthed to her if something was wrong, but then she was nodding over his shoulder to where Jace was standing.

Surprise flickered in Sebastian's eyes for a moment as he quickly looked back at Clary, and then he shuffled back so he was resting back on his haunches, and he reached out an arm toward Jace. Jace moved forward, swallowing hard as he took Sebastian's hand. His fingers were rough and calloused, and his grip was firm around Jace's hand as he tugged him closer. Jace leaned down slightly and then his lips were coming together with Sebastian's and it _felt. So. Good_.

Jace would have felt embarrassed at how loud his moan was, but Sebastian made a noise similar at the back of his throat, and the hand that wasn't holding Jace's gripped his hip, holding him firmly against his kneeling body. Sebastian pulled back, and Jace's eyes opened slowly, meeting Sebastian's dark gaze. Sebastian ran his tongue along his bottom lip and Jace couldn't help but follow the movement, his own mouth falling open and a pant escaping without his permission as Sebastian's lips quirked in a smile. He leaned in for another kiss, and Jace's hand gripped Sebastian's shoulder as their tongues danced together. When they broke apart again, Clary was panting where she was laying on the bed, watching them both with hooded eyes, her desire evident in the way her pupils were blown and the flush was making it's way down her cheeks to her chest.

Sebastian turned his attention back to his girlfriend, and he pulled the towel apart completely, so that the girl was naked in front of them. Jace's eyes widened as he looked at her, at her full breasts that looked like he could cover with his palms, and then down lower, over her quivering stomach, and then to her wet sex, which was shaved. Sebastian leaned back in, laying over her with his elbows braced on either side of her face. The pair kissed, their naked bodies rolling together, Clary's hand coming around to scratch her fingers lightly over Sebastian's back, drawing out a groan from inside him. Jace felt awkward and out of place, half clothed and standing there next to the two, but when Sebastian started kissing and sucking at Clary's neck, she managed to speak, her voice strangled.

"You're wearing way too many clothes," she told him, before letting out a loud gasp as Sebastian bit down at the hollow of her neck, and her eyes squeezed shut. Jace almost tripped getting out of his sweatpants, and then he moved forward to crouch on the edge of the bed.

He was already ridiculously hard, watching the pair of them. His cock was throbbing as he watched the pair grind together, obviously completely comfortable and familiar with one anothers bodies as they kissed and touched. Sebastian hitched one of Clary's legs up over his hip so that his cock could rub directly over her sex at another angle, and she arched her back off the bed, moaning out his name. Then Sebastian pulled away from her, and he reached over and kissed Jace again, catching the golden eyed man by surprise. Jace had to lean forward so that their lips could meet firmly, and then he felt a small hand around his wrist, pulling him in closer, and he knew that it was Clary. Sebastian's teeth brushed over his lower lip and Jace turned his hand so that he could link his fingers together with Clary's. She readily changed her grip, and tightened her hold on his, and it felt so strange, but _so good_ to be connected with both of them; through hands with Clary and through lips with Sebastian.

Sebastian moved down on the bed, ending his kiss with Jace and starting a whole different kind of kiss as he dropped his mouth between Clary's legs, earning a long whine from the red headed girl.

He was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

 _They_ were beautiful.

God—Jace was pretty sure that he was going to come just from watching them.

Clary's eyes were closed, her head was tossed back, there was a pink flush on her chest and staining her breasts. She was making these breathy moans, and Jace wasn't sure where to keep his eyes—on where Sebastian was playing with her clit, or on Clary's face. Every now and then her eyes would flutter open and he caught a glimpse of the hazy, green beneath the lid, but they shut again almost straight away.

"Seb...Babe— _fuck_ ," Clary whined, and her hands shifted from her sides, one of them going to Sebastian's hair and the other going to her breast. Sebastian didn't rush his movements, pulling back to touch the tip of his tongue to her clit, slowly circling the bundle of nerves before leaving a kiss to the crease of her thigh. "Seb," Clary tightened her grip in his hair, trying to force him back to her pussy, but Sebastian let out a quiet, huff of laughter and pulled away from her completely, his eyes going over to Jace.

"Hold her wrists," Sebastian said, his voice low and husky. Clary let out a sudden moan, and she gripped Sebastian's short blonde hair so hard it looked like she was trying to pull it out right from his scalp. Jace wasn't sure if that was her giving consent, but Sebastian looked confident, watching Jace. Jace swallowed hard and shuffled forward on the bed, wondering how to position himself. "Above her," Sebastian directed. "Move the pillows." Jace's thighs felt shaky, and he did as he was told, pushing the pillows away and kneeling above Clary's head. He found her wrists and held them firmly, but not to the point where she wouldn't be able to pull away if she really tried. But she went willingly, letting him hold her wrists down on the duvet cover. He spread his thighs to get his balance, Clary's head just below his hard cock.

Sebastian smirked up at Jace, his dark eyes gleaming as he met Jace's gaze, and Jace felt a spurt of pre-cum leave his cock at the lusty expression on the blondes face. He didn't even process that he was over Clary and exactly where the pre-cum would have landed until Sebastian's eyes fell back to his girlfriend and he bit down hard on his lower lip. Jace looked down, and saw the pre-cum had streaked across Clary's chin, dripping down toward her neck.

Jace's hands instinctively tightened around Clary's wrists, his pupils blowing out at the liquid on her face, and she let out another moan, wriggling her hips and thrusting them forward, toward Sebastian. When she opened her eyes again, she was looking directly up at Jace. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her, at just how close his cock was bobbing close to her face, and when she took in a deep breath and dragged her tongue over her lower lip so that the tip flicked out over her chin, licking up his pre-cum.

There were loud groans from both of the boys at that.

Sebastian seemed to give up on teasing Clary, his eyes so dark that looked black, as he lunged forward, plunging his tongue inside Clary. The red head let out a long moan, arching upwards, coming so close to touching Jace with her lips. Jace's fingers were probably wrapped so tightly around Clary's wrists that he was going to leave bruises, but she didn't look at all like she cared. Jace could tell the moment she came, her moans pitched so high they were practically a squeak, and her fingers curled inward, pressing into her palms.

Sebastian pulled away from her, giving her one last kiss on the inside of her thigh before he got off the bed and grabbed a condom from the bedside table. He tore of the wrapper, letting it fall somewhere on the ground and rolling the latex on and resuming his position between Clary's legs. Clary seemed to choose that moment to lift her head off the bed and lick a thick stripe up Jace's cock, and he groaned, his eyes locked down on her face. Clary paused for a moment, as Sebastian slid inside her, but then she kept on going, licking at the base of his cock as best she could, sucking at his sac.

Jace's eyes were moving between watching where Sebastian was entering Clary, to where Clary's mouth was licking at him, to closing his eyes because this was all getting so much.

He came before Sebastian did, in thick ropes over the lower half of Clary's face, catching on her lips and chin and neck. There was a curve of her smile as her tongue came out, licking at some of the come that she could reach, and Sebastian moan was loud and deep, and his face contorted as he also came.

Jace's mind was fuzzy as he gently released Clary's hands, and after a moment, she tugged at a corner of the towel that was underneath her to wipe her face. Sebastian rolled to the side and tied off the condom and left the room to throw it away. Clary rolled over, her hand coming out to rest on Jace's knee, and he took that as indication that she wanted him to stay. He used her towel to clean himself up as well and then made himself comfortable on the bed. Clary rolled to face him, throwing an arm and leg over him and going to sleep almost instantly it seemed. Sebastian came back and shook his head with a smile as he saw her, and his smile was still soft as he looked at Jace.

"Keen for a nap?" He asked, even though he was already climbing back onto the bed. Jace nodded, taking in a deep breath of their combined scents in the air, before he fell asleep as well, almost as fast as Clary had.

 **Alright! Recommendations, as per usual...Of course I have to say _Sucker_ by the Jonas Brothers, because those boys were part of my childhood! And then _Angel_ by Theory of a Deadman, which I haven't heard in yeeears. Also Side Bit by Drax Project, who are incredible. And thennnn _Hostage_ and _Bellyache_ by Billie Eilish. I like a lot of her songs anyway, but those are my favourites. Ooh, and _Blue Jeans_ by Sofia Karlberg.**

 **Also, related to music, please, please, PLEASE check out the Vevo Live version of _Who Do You Love?_ by 5SOS and Chainsmokers. I wasn't too keen on the song the first time I heard it, even though generally I adore 5SOS, but I liked the music video, and then the Vevo live version is fucking awesome, I've watched it so many times. Haha. Calum is just so beautiful, Ashton has always been my favourite, and then Luke and Michael, well...I don't generally ship real people, but let me tell you, I can definitely see why people ship them together. Haha. And Luke's glow up from twink to daddy was...Well, intense. Haha. He has killer style now, I love it.**

 **Um, _Instant Family_ was a great movie! Everything I hoped it would be. I've also recently started watching _Flack_ with Anna Paquin and _The Resident_ , and I definitely recommend both! And also _Fear The Walking Dead_ —I never really got into the _The Walking Dead,_ but I've really gotten into this one. My heart belongs to Nick and Alicia. And then also _Discovery of Witches_ , even though I haven't finished the first season yet. But I really liked it. I got sort of trashy, worse-than- _Twilight_ vibes from the trailer and wasn't really feeling it, but it surprised me and I'm really enjoyed it.**

 **Okay! My questions this week aaaare;**

 **What is something you did today that you're proud of yourself for? Could be anything! Mine could be I didn't cry today. Haha. Nah—I shaved my legs! It's been a while, and given we're still hot weather and I'm wearing skirts to work, it's a bit overdue. It's a small thing but, buddy, we gotta be happy over the small things!**

 **What is the last show you watched? I don't care if it was something playing in the background, or something you were watching with your kids that's annoying—just put it in there. Haha. I'm currently watching Strike Back, which I've recently gotten into. Good for some background distraction as I type. Actually, in the time between typing this and then posting it, I've actually moved onto Jeremy Kyle now. Hahaha. Always great.**

 **And the last one is, did the news of the Shyland engagement rock your world or was it just me? Hahaha. Me and my best friend were squealing when we saw it on snapchat and twitter, I adore Shane and Ryland.**

 **My Tumblr is SereneCalamity, and my Twitter is CalamitySerene if you want to chat x**


	24. Chapter 24

Jace had never been in a position like this before.

The position where he has actively liked two people at once.

Sure, there had been Kaelie at the same time that there had always been that underlying _thing_ that he had had for Sebastian, but it wasn't something that he faced everyday, just something that occasionally crept back into his mind.

With Sebastian and Clary, though, that was different.

He loved Sebastian, he wasn't even going to try and deny that anymore. He had never been in love before—he had _thought_ that he had loved Kaelie, but it hadn't been hard to realize after they had broken up that he was just trying to put everything that he missed from having anyone else to rely on and love onto her. But he knew that he loved Sebastian.

And he didn't love Clary, he knew that his feelings for her weren't as deep as he what he felt for the other man, but he could see himself loving her. One day. He was falling for her, and he knew that if he was in this situation for any longer—where he was living with them, laughing with them, _sleeping_ with them—that he was going to fall just as hard for her. All that resentment and jealousy that he had felt toward her when he had first moved in...That had shifted and morphed. He wasn't jealous of her for having Sebastian, he didn't resent their relationship because she had him and he didn't.

He was jealous of _both_ of them for having _each other_. He resented that they were in a relationship _that he wasn't a part of_.

He had no right.

They had so much history, so much trust and love for each other, Jace just didn't feel as though he had any chance.

But then he didn't understand what was going on at the time moment.

Was he just some fun?

Is that all he was to them?

Jace tried to push that thought back and smother it with the fact that he knew he meant more than that to them. They were his friends. But people slept with their friends, and then moved on with their lives as though it never happened, and that was what Jace wondered was happening now.

Jace managed to hold himself together until the next weekend. There were no other kisses or beds shared, but Jace could feel a tension in the air. At least, he hoped he did. Maybe he was just imagining it because he _wanted_ there to be tension. Saturday morning, he got on his bike and drove over to Isabelle's. Simon was taking Max to see his mother and sister, and giving Isabelle a morning alone at her place, so when Jace had text her, she had said that she was completely freed up.

"Jace!" Isabelle called from where she was sitting in the lounge, the French doors open to allow a breeze into the room. "How's it going?" Jace kicked off his shoes and walked over to where she was sitting, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before sitting down on the arm chair opposite where she was sitting. When he pulled back, Isabelle was frowning.

"What?" Jace asked, suddenly worried.

"No, _you_ what," she answered.

" _What_?" Jace's face was confused. "That's not—that doesn't even make sense." Isabelle rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Something's wrong," she said, patting the space on the couch next to her. "Tell me." Jace licked his lips and took in a deep breath before he sat down next to his cousin. He really didn't know where to start, and so in the end, it all sort of came out in a jumbled out mess. Which made sense, really, because that was what the whole situation was—a whole fucking jumbled mess.

He tripped over his words and even though he had told himself on the way over that he was going to keep his feelings out of it because it was just going to be harder if _those_ got involved in the story, he knew that Isabelle could hear them in everything that came from his mouth.

Everything came out non-linear, because one moment he was talking about the first time that he had ever seen Sebastian, and the next minute he was talking about Clary's birthday and what had happened in her bedroom. He spoke about the way he felt Sebastian, the way that he had always felt about Sebastian, and the way he had been feeling about Clary. He talked about Kaelie and he talked about his mother, and he confided in Isabelle how grateful he was just to have the chance to be a part of his cousins lives properly for once, because he had felt so cut off from everyone and everything when he had been living in New York.

He had intended to only talk about the mess that he had with Sebastian and Clary, but he ended veering into his mothers drinking problems and their money issues, and how he felt as though he had always just _been drowning_ without any help.

Jace ended his story staring down at his hands, because he couldn't watch his cousins face as he spoke. He had stared at his hands for most of the story, actually, after seeing the first look of utter confusion that had flooded across Isabelle's face when he began talking about Sebastian and Clary. When he finally looked up at the dark haired woman next to him, she was looking at him with tears in her eyes, and there were tracks staining her cheeks, as though she had been crying while he had been talking.

"Oh, Jace," Isabelle finally sobbed out, as though she had been trying to keep herself together while he spoke, and she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Jace didn't realize he had tears running down his face as well until they were both quiet, with only Isabelle's crying filling the room. She hugged him so tight that he could barely breathe, but it felt good, it helped centre himself. He wasn't sure how long it was that they sat there, both crying, not saying anything, just holding each other. Isabelle was the first one to pull away, but she kept one arm around him, as the other went to her face to swipe away at the tears. "Alright," she began her voice a little shaky. "First of all..." she took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Jace frowned, looking confused.

"What?" He gaped at her. "What do you mean? You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"Fuck yes I do," Isabelle shot back at him. "I mean, I'm sorry and I know Alec and our parents will be sorry as well." Jace still looked lost. "We knew things weren't great for you and your mum. I mean—we knew that she had problems and that you guys didn't have a lot of money. But we didn't think it was _that bad_. I didn't realize—" she cut herself off to take in another breath, and it looked like she might start crying again from how watery her eyes were. "We should have gotten you out of there—we should have moved you here _years_ ago."

"No, no," Jace assured her, reaching forward to kiss his cousin on her temple. "I'm not your responsibility—"

"No! You're our _family_!" Isabelle insisted, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "We shouldn't have left you there." Jace managed a small smile. Isabelle exhaled through her nose. "But you're here now, and that's what really matters." It didn't really sound as though she believed that you.

"I wouldn't have left before, Iz, no matter what you or Alec or Uncle Robert or Aunt Maryse said," Jace told her, not wanting his cousin to carry any guilt that he had unintentionally dumped on her. "I wouldn't have left mum, she wouldn't have made it without me." Isabelle's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, I don't give a shit," she muttered. "You were the kid, she was the adult. _She_ was meant to be the one looking after you, not the other way around." Jace gave her a small smile, but he had a feeling that she didn't understand. He wasn't going to try and _make_ her understand, because he already felt bad enough about the guilt she was feeling. But he would never have left his mother, not when he was in elementary school and moping up her vomit off the floor, or in high school and he was getting up at five o'clock every day to deliver papers so that he could pay their electricity bill, or even a year ago and he still picking her unconscious body off the ground, still working long hours and sometimes two or three jobs to make ends meet.

It had only been a few months ago when it was like something in him had finally snapped, and he decided that he had had enough. There was a small part of him that still felt guilty, but he just hoped that she was still off with that guy she had run away with, and he was keeping her safe.

"And as for that other thing," Isabelle's eyes were narrow as she glanced around. Jace wondered what it was that she was looking for until she spotted her phone and stretched out for it. "They should _not_ be leading you blind like this," Isabelle muttered as she swiped her thumb over the screen and Jace's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. "That's not fair and—"

"No, no!" Jace cried, grabbing the phone from her and holding it out of reach. "You can't text them— _either_ of them!"

"Why not?!" Isabelle demanded, trying to snatch her phone out of his hand. "What they're doing is wrong!"

"Iz— _please_ ," Jace pleaded with her. Isabelle sighed, her eyes still narrow, but after a moment, she nodded. Jace lowered his arm and reached out his hand with the phone. Isabelle grabbed the phone, but Jace was still gripping it tightly. " _Promise_ you're not going to text either of them?"

"Yeah, yeah," Isabelle pulled at her phone, and Jace let it go. They sat there for a moment and Isabelle scrunched up her nose. "I guess I should be high fiving you? For getting with two people? I mean, that's a thing that guys do, right?"

"I do _not_ expect you to high five me," Jace muttered and Isabelle nodded.

"Alright," she shrugged. "Well...In a way I'm glad that you found your way back to Sebastian...Because it was clear that you guys had a good thing going, even if it was only brief."

" _But_ ," Jace prompted her, because he knew that it was coming.

"But Sebastian and Clary are insanely in love," Isabelle stated, and Jace felt that statement down to his bones. It was something he already knew, he saw it whenever they were together, but it still stung a little. "And I don't see that ending anytime soon." Once again, she was just saying what Jace already knew.

"Yeah," he breathed out heavily through his teeth. Isabelle swallowed hard before carrying on.

"Despite how free and open Clary is, and how she didn't mind Sebastian carrying on with you when he was in the city, you're the only other person that Sebastian was actually with while he was together with Clary. I know that...I know that doesn't sound that special, but it was. It meant that she knew how much you meant to Sebastian," Isabelle said to him. "And given what she knew, I don't think she would let something start to happen between you guys if there wasn't some end game involved." That _kind_ of sounded hopeful, but Jace didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"What do you think that is?" He asked.

"I don't know," Isabelle shrugged and gave him a sympathetic smile which quickly turned angry. "I don't know—and it's not fair that you don't know. They need to talk to you, let you know what's going on in their heads. They should already know that. _Especially_ for Clary. I mean with her parents? She should _know_ that in a relationship, especially one that's new and evolving, communication is key, and all that shit."

"It's not a relationship, it's just sex," Jace corrected and Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Whatever it is, you still need to talk," she stated. "And...They're your _friends_. I mean, at least Sebastian is. Clary's amazing, so I hope you guys are friends?" She lifted an eyebrow at Jace and he pursed his lips as he thought.

"Yeah," he hummed out. "Yeah." He hadn't really thought about it. To begin with, he had been jealous of her. And then he had grudgingly started to see that she wasn't such a bad person and had started to come around to the fact that Sebastian had a great partner in her. And then they had made out and he had had sex with her boyfriend. Twice. Since then, he had been caught in this limbo phase of feeling like he was awkward every time he was around her, and wanting to go to a bedroom with both her and Sebastian again.

He wasn't sure if they had ever really settled into that friend stage.

"I guess," he murmured and Isabelle looked slightly confused, but didn't say anything.

"Maybe just...Wait until tomorrow. Let yourself think everything over tonight, think about how _you_ feel toward both of them and what you want. And I know that Sunday is usually their day to chill out and just do things around the house, so they'll be in a good mood and relaxed, and that will be the best time to talk to them," Isabelle said. "It's already been a while. You need to talk to them sooner rather than later."

"Mm, I know," Jace sighed, because he _did_ know that she was right. At least with Sebastian's side of things, he knew that he was friends with him, and even though he wasn't sure where they stood now, he knew that he wanted to remain friends with him. And he liked Clary. She was funny and she was loyal and she cared about him and had been happy to take him in when a lot of other people in her position wouldn't have. Maybe he wasn't quite as certain how he felt about her as he did about Sebastian, but he knew that for his part, he would like to consider her a friend. "I know," he repeated, his voice a little firmer this time.

"Good," Isabelle nodded. The conversation shifted then—Isabelle seemed to sense that Jace had talked all he wanted about that topic, and so she started talking about Maxci. Jace was more than happy just to listen, taking in what she was saying, but mainly at face value because his mind was still spinning a little. He left just after two in the afternoon, but instead of going back to Sebastian and Clary's place, he drove around.

He took his bike down to the beach and then out of the city. He had to fill up with petrol at one point because he was already half empty and he then found himself driving for nearly another two hours. He wasn't sure what time it was, he didn't want to pull out his phone and check the time, mainly because he didn't want to see if there were texts there.

Or maybe, he didn't want to see if there _wasn't_ texts there.

He wasn't sure what he wanted right now, and that was a big part of the problem, that had been why he had gone to Isabelle.

Or maybe he _did_ know what he wanted.

He wanted Sebastian, and he wanted Clary, and he wanted that to be _normal_. He wanted everything that they already had—all existing together, eating, cooking, breathing—with the relaxed nights when they were drinking beer on the table on the deck or watching TV. And he wanted the sex. And he also wanted holding hands and goodbye kisses and simple touches.

Jace took in a deep breath as he looked up at the sky and realized that he should probably be getting home. The sun was sinking in the sky and he was actually pretty hungry. He was about to get back on his bike from where he had been at a look out when his phone started ringing. He sighed as he pulled it out and then blinked at the name on the screen. He frowned as he swiped his thumb across the screen and lifted it to his ear.

"Mum?"

 **So my song recommendations this week... _Polygraph Eyes_ by Yungblud, I think it's incredible. Also the live cover version _I Will Follow You Into The Dark_ by Yungblud and Halsey, and this also shows incredible chemistry between them. So, Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison...I totally understand that he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I adore him. He's only twenty-one and he has written some incredible songs. _Polygraph Eyes_ is about sexual assault and the consent issue that is so big right now. _Medication_ that talks about our heavily medicated society, and _Kill Somebody_ , which is a something of a visual representation of depression and anxiety, which hits hard for me. He's really open about his own mental illness and ADHD, and he's continually breaking down gender norms and sexual stereotypes—dude wears more pink that a Disney princess, rocks dresses and skirts, regularly makes out with his guitarist and has a beautiful relationship with Halsey. I recommend him so much, he's just so unapologetically himself and blunt and incredible, please, please, please check him out. **

**TV series and movies...I'm really enjoying _Bull_ and _Ray Donovan_ at the moment. Also, _Animal Kingdom_ , which I started watching for Finn Cole, who is also in _Peaky Blinders_ , and it's fucking amazing. So is _Peaky Blinders_ , though. So both of them. We also recently rewatched _Hairspray_ , which I adore. Haha. **

**Ooh, also! We have release date for the new _Veronica Mars_ series! I feel like I've been waiting a life time for it. And for _Big Little Lies_! I wasn't to keen on a second season just because the first one was complete and there was only one book, but I'm still excited for it. **

**I've gone to a couple of concerts this month; Anne Marie and Billie Eilish. Both of them had such incredible voices live, they sounded pretty much exactly like their studio recordings and they had such insane energy. Anne Marie seemed like a total sweetheart, full of smiles and giggles, and then Billie was just amazing, that girl is going places given she's gotten this far and she's only seventeen. The whole crowd for Billie was on their feet the whole time, even us in the seated section—she was just magnetic. Tickets for her were insane, we only just managed to get some in the last release.**

 **Ooh, and Drax Project have a new music video out for their song _Woke Up_ Late featuring Hailee Steinfeld. My hubby wasn't too happy, because it's got Liza Koshy in it and he finds her frustrating at hell. **

**Now for my questions! Okay...What is a ship, or multiple ships, that have broken your heart, or that have really made you feel just a little fucked up? Can be canon or not. My top one would have to be Hanna/Caleb from _Pretty Little Liars_. I absolutely fucking hated season 6 and 7 of _PLL_ , and I stopped watching it until they got back together, and even then, it actually felt like my whole stomach had been ripped out of my body when there was the whole Spencer/Caleb story line. And then the other two would be Landon/Jamie from _A Walk To Remember_ and Ian/Mickey from _Shameless_. Holy shit. My fucking heart. There are plenty of other couples that really hit me as well, Steve/Bucky from _Avengers_ , Alex/Michael from _Roswell: New Mexico_ , Bellamy/Clarke from _The 100_ , Logan/Veronica from Veronica Mars, Chuck/Blair from _Gossip Girl_ , Will/Alicia from _The Good Wife_ and Jane/Michael from _Jane The Virgin_ to name a few.**

 **Next one; what is your favourite colour? Super easy, right? Haha. Although I don't have one, so maybe it's not...Green or purple? Maybe? Haha.**

 **And then; are you preparing to be emotionally fucked up by _Avengers: Endgame_ , or are you completely indifferent? I'm seeing it in a couple of hours, and I tell you, I am fucked. And I am _going_ to be so fucked. I've looked up every spoiler possible, watched a bit of the leaked footage and I'm still not prepared. If you guys want any spoilers or anything, just message me, and I'll try to retain everything through my hysteria.**

 **Just as my last point, my love and heart goes out to those in Sri Lanka. My cousin and I cried when waking up and reading what happened and I can't even fathom how those who were involved and directly affected are feeling right now.**

 **Love to you all xx**


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